


Chipped Blades

by tee_scribbles



Category: Kuroko no Basuke | Kuroko's Basketball
Genre: Alternate Universe - Military, Amputation, Angst, M/M, Slow Build, mention of suicide, military/political plot intewoven with the romantic side, reversibility top/bottom
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-03-18
Updated: 2015-12-25
Packaged: 2018-03-18 10:31:11
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 15
Words: 23,906
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3566423
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tee_scribbles/pseuds/tee_scribbles
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>An AU where Aomine and Kagami are soldiers in opposing armies</p><p>  <i>Taiga examined his sword as well, finding a nick, similar to that of Daiki’s on it. “This can be a mark for next time,” he said looking up at Daiki, a slight smile playing on his lips. “Promise for next battle.”</i></p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

A soft pitter patter filled the grey room as it began to rain outside. The small black and white dog opened an eye at the sound of the rain before falling back asleep. His soft whistle-snores joined the pitter patter in the empty room.

The door slammed open, eliciting a sharp yelp from the dog. He looked up to see Tetsuya stumble into the room, holding his mouth tightly as tears began to leak from his eyes. He looked up in concern at his master as he deposited himself on his bed slowly, chest heaving with emotion. Immediately he padded over, nuzzling his leg affectionately and whining softly in concern.

“He’s …” Tetsuya started, “gone, Nigou.” His voice shook heavily on the last words, as tears began to fall faster. His body shook with grief as he bent down to pick up Nigou and held him close to his chest. “We — I couldn’t do anything to save him. I could only watch as —”

Tetsuya’s voice faltered as he began to sob harder. All the emotions he’d held back in the last few hours, after he had to call off the search and the memorial service, surged through his veins and possessed his body. His chest hurt as he held Nigou tighter, as if the warmth against it could heal the pain there. He clenched his jaws, trying to stop his body from expressing the next wave of pain, as his vision blurred from tears.

Nigou whined again in a mix of concern and an attempt to comfort. As much as he hated cats, he wished in that moment he was one, so he could emit a comforting purr. The best he could do was try to lick Tetsuya’s face of the tears that were falling. Catching some of the salty grief against his tongue he could only watch as others he failed to catch fell to the ground.

———————

“You don’t normally smoke, Junpei,” came a warm voice from behind Junpei, surprising him. He looked to see who it was and scowled in irritation. He looked back out into the rain, raising the cigarette to his lips as he tried to collect his thoughts.

“You know why I’m taking a smoke,” he sighed, smoke wafting out from his mouth. “Even if we had a victory over Shuutoku, the cost for that victory is definitely going to take a toll on the moral of the troops.”

“Well, commander, it is your place to hold the troops together in a time like this,” Teppei said quietly. He leaned on the windowsill looking out into the rain and the lone memorial breaking the green monotony of the lawn. He turned to look at him before placing a hand on his shoulder and gripping it firmly.

“I know, I know, idiot,” Junpei retorted back, but it was more of a tired sigh lacking any bite. He took one more smoke before dropping the cigarette to the floor, crushing it with a quick twist of his shoe. “Come on, we should go check on how everyone else is doing.”

Teppei smiled softly, but Junpei could clearly see the same pain etched in his eyes as everyone’s expressions that morning at the memorial service. Tetsuya had returned from battle victorious, which was better than anyone had expected, but at such a high cost.

“Tetsuya must be the worst,” said Teppei, as they walked towards the main building. Junpei looked at him in surprise.

“He seemed fine when he reported everything today and throughout the whole memorial service,” Junpei said. He popped his head quickly into one of the rooms to check on the troops in there, exchanging quick formalities.

“He probably blames himself for what happened, since he was the one who lead the troops,” Teppei said, when Junpei returned to his side. “Just like how you used to blame yourself for —“

“I get it. I’ll go talk to him — you don’t need to bring it up!” Junpei cut him off irritably, looking away with an annoyed expression.

“I just meant we should give him support and time,” Teppei replied gently, realizing he’d rubbed a sore spot. “But it’s probably especially difficult for him right now.”

“Which is why I’ll go talk to him,” Junpei said, “because I understand how he feels.” He sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. “I’d rather we’d lost that battle than to lose one of our lieutenants.” He kicked at an invisible object on the ground. “This goddam, pointless war!”

“Junpei,” Teppei said firmly, placing a hand on his shoulder to calm him. “There’s nothing we can do about it, so don’t make a ruckus. We’re just doing our best to defend our citizens from attacks.” His weak words reflected Junpei’s sentiment, but he didn’t express it out of fear of the already low morale amongst the troops.

“Sorry about my outburst,” Junpei replied sheepishly, the tension in his body fading under Teppei’s touch. “I should go see Tetsuya now.” He walked away, holding up a hand in sign of acknowledgement before turning a corner in the hall. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for taking the time to read! This is my first fic on AO3, so forgive my poor summary.


	2. Chapter 2

Shouichi sipped his tea slowly, contemplating on how to respond to the latest news. He could feel the other commander’s eyes on him, waiting for him to respond. Smirking subtly, he deliberately set his cup down slowly.

“We can’t justify an attack on Seirin just yet, Ootsubo,” Shouichi said, leaning back in his seat. “Even in light of recent events, if Shuutoku and Touou were to have a joint attack on Seirin, it would simply invite the others to join in our little game, out of the interest of ‘keeping the balance of power.’”

“True. I’d forgotten that the other nations could potentially get involved as well. So we should force Seirin’s hand in this matter to set up a three way war. I assume you’ll be seeing to that end,” Taisuke said, gesturing towards Shouichi.

“Then we can,” he replied, snapping his fingers suddenly, “remove Seirin from the map. And the other nations can do little because seemingly Seirin brought it upon themselves.” As he poured more tea, some of the runoff that ran down the edges of the teapot stained the map below, right where Seirin was. He smiled and wiped it off, smearing some of it towards Touou.

———————

Satsuki sighed as Daiki continued to roll his thumbs into her shoulder blades. She could feel all the pent up tension from the operation leave them. One of his thumbs began rubbing particularly hard, causing her to jump in surprise at the tickling sensation of pain. Daiki ignored it, continuing despite her giggles of pain before removing his hands.

“Thank you, Daiki. You always give the best shoulder rubs,” said Satsuki, melting back into her chair.

“Tch. It’s the least I could do after what I asked of you,” he said looking away, rubbing his neck guiltily. Changing the subject, he said “Are you sure we can trust Ryo not to say anything?”

Satsuki laughed. “Of course, I asked him, too, so he won’t for sure. Plus he doesn’t want to deal with your anger if he leaked that out. He said he’ll come back tomorrow to help if needed with your patient,” she said, adding a wink at the end.

Daiki simply grunted in response. He gently placed his hands on her shoulders, and tapped them a few times before telling her, “You should rest after today. I can watch Kagami tonight.”

She opened her mouth to protest, but Daiki pushed her out of the chair, steering her towards her bedroom. He was sometimes glad that everyone assumed he and Satsuki had something going on, or somebody would be questioning her stay at his villa. After making sure she’d settled down, he quietly turned the door to the other room, smelling the lingering scent of blood.

_“Daiki, are you injured or something?” Satsuki asked, her voice brimming with concern as she inspected his walk for any signs of injury. “Normally you wouldn’t ask me to come this late at night, especially with my medical equipment!”_

_“You’ll see, woman,” Daiki said, agitated by her questioning. He bit his lip distractedly before opening his bedroom, revealing an unconscious man on his bed. He could hear Satsuki gasp. “Can you help him?” he asked quietly._

_Satsuki looked at him in shock, her eyes brimming with questions before she looked from Daiki to her new patient and back again. “I’ll see what I can do,” she replied softly._

_She immediately found the main wound, a gunshot wound right above the knee. She furrowed her brows with concern momentarily before taking out scissors. Snipping the damp, bloodied cloth away delicately, she revealed reddened skin and a deep wound where the bullet had entered._

_“We’re going to have to operate right away!” Satsuki said suddenly, startling Daiki. She ran out of the room, leaving Daiki to watch her go._

He sighed as he plopped himself on the chair nearest to the bed. She’d brought back Ryo just in case, though she wouldn’t answer why, not until she’d told Daiki to get her a saw partway through the operation, deeming an amputation necessary. He shuddered at the memory, quite glad that Ryo had been there to help her with whole process. He’d been fortunately given the task of holding Kagami as she and Ryo worked to remove all the leg from the wound down.

_“Was it really necessary? He’s not going to take to this well once the chloroform wears off,” Daiki said to her as he helped her clean up the medical supplies. She didn’t look at him as she rinsed her hands in the basin, staining the water an even deeper scarlet than it was earlier._

_“Yes. It will be a shock to him, Daiki, but it was necessary to prevent infection after what he’s been through,” she replied wearily. “Also looking at the way the bones in his leg were damaged, he’d have been crippled for life even if I left the leg.” Daiki held up a towel for her to dry her hands before pushing her out of the room, despite her protests about leaving everything there._

_“Let me take care of the cleaning, you’re too tired to do anything properly,” Daiki said. When she turned to glare at him, he added hesitantly, “And I’ll give you a shoulder rub.” He smiled slightly as her eyes lit up at his sudden offer of kindness. She sat down on a chair instantly and stared expectantly._

When Satsuki volunteered as a nurse in order to gather more information at battles as their strategist, he’d assumed she’d been performing easy tasks, nothing of the type he just witnessed. She’d needed Ryo’s help (though he was quite hesitant) to cut through the various tissues and bone, but she had put in most of the brute strength and control behind it. She was clearly experienced with the way she’d bandaged up the open wound, and sent him to dispose of the severed leg. He smiled lightly, amazed at how much his sister could do now. War had changed her greatly.  

He stared at the mess next to him, breaking his thoughts and immediately regretting volunteering to clean up. “Satsuki’s going to kill me,” he mumbled to himself as he began to throw the cleaned instruments haphazardly into the box of supplies.


	3. Chapter 3

_“Tetsuuuuuuuu!” Satsuki shrieked with joy as she tackled him, her black wig falling off revealing a bun of pink hair. Tetusya showed very little surprise, simply hugging her back briefly before gently removing her arms._

_“Quiet, Satsuki! You’re going to bring the whole army running here,” Daiki scolded her. He stood moodily near the window, arms folded. “We’re just here to deliver the message, remember?”_

_“Message?” Tetsuya asked, looking back and forth between the two. “Now would not be the best time as I —“_

_He paused, hearing a loud thump behind him. Having just come in, Taiga stared in surprise at their unexpected guests, looking first at Satsuki then at Aomine, his eyes widening in recognition. Tetsuya gave him a sharp command before he could do anything, motioning for him to take a seat at one of the chairs in the room. Taiga bit his lip, but took a seat, saying something foreign to Tetsuya. Satsuki looked at Tetsuya, questioningly._

_“I know, Kagami,” said Tetsuya. “He’s the one that pinned you in the square a week ago.” He looked at Taiga’s face, seeing it scrunch up in concentration as he tried to process Tetsuya’s words. Tetsuya repeated himself much more slowly, looking at Taiga encouragingly, and smiling as Taiga nodded in understanding._

_“He’s the beggar?” Aomine interjected. “I didn’t know Seirin was so desperate they’d recruit beggars off the street.” He smirked a bit at Tetsuya, as anger and regret from their last argument flared up again._

_“Daiki!” Satsuki scolded, looking at Tetsuya apologetically._

_Taiga narrowed his eyes at Aomine, not understanding what he said but hearing the derogatory tone. He growled in anger, but Tetsuya grabbed his arm, shaking his head and motioning to the door. Footsteps could be heard passing by._

_“Calm down, Kagami,” Tetsuya said slowly, “You can show him your worth on the battlefield.” He sighed as he felt the tension leave Taiga’s body. Looking up, he saw Taiga glare at Daiki, the heat of anger and challenge not having left his eyes yet. Daiki met his eyes briefly before scoffing._

Daiki woke with a start, cursing as he looked around. It was still dark, but he could see the first rays of sunrise beginning to creep in. He looked over at Taiga, noticing beads of sweat forming on his forehead as he mumbled in his sleep. Picking up a cloth, he dipped it in a basin of water before gingerly dabbing it against his forehead.

He peeked out the door, making sure Satsuki wasn’t awake or she’d scold him for falling asleep when he was supposed to be watching Taiga. He walked to the kitchen to pour himself a glass of water. Hearing the door, he looked up to find Satsuki, rubbing her eye.

“Daiki,” she started, pausing to yawn, “You can leave the cooking to me. You should go tend to Kagami.”

“No, it’s fine, Satsuki,” he replied instantly. “You know how I enjoy cooking, just leave it to me. I already tended to him, but you should go check on Kagami’s wound anyway, since you’re the doctor.”

“Daiki, I know you’re lying. You’d never cook if someone else could do it for you,” Satsuki replied, trying to push him out of the kitchen. “All the cooks always complains about how demanding you are whenever you come home to visit.”

“Eh? I don’t know what you’re talking about. Satsuki, no it’s fine you should —“ Daiki replied hastily, refusing to budge. They both paused in their struggling as a loud roar of shock mingled with pain ripped through the villa.

———————

_Taiga stepped back as the bullet ripped into his leg. Before he could even process what had happened, his opponent took advantage of his hesitation, shoving him off into the ravine below. A faint “Taiga!” could be heard over the river before all became dark._

Taiga opened an eye blearily, as a ray of light hit his face. He couldn’t remember much of his dream, or how he ended up here, but there was a pain in his left leg. Feeling too hazy to investigate, he closed his eyes again to try to sleep the pain away, tilting his head to the side on the pillow.

As he struggled to fall back into the lull of sleep, the pain began to grow unbearable. Growling in irritation, he tore off the sheets, not prepared for the sight that he faced. He saw his right leg, scratched in multiple places, but with a foot at the end with toes that flexed at his command. As his eyes quickly flipped back and forth between his right leg and the empty space where its companion should have been, his body began to tremble uncontrollably. He grabbed his left arm to try to gain some control over his body. His eyes traveled up the empty space, finding a tightly bandaged stump of what once was his leg.

“No, no, no, no, no,” Taiga whispered. “No, this isn’t happening. I’m just dreaming right now.” He blinked once, twice, three times as each time failed to produce his leg. His fingers trembled as they brushed against the remains of his left leg. He clenched his jaw as his face scrunched in disbelief, trying to maintain his composure.

Any remaining control he had over his emotions left him as his fingertips brushed the edge of the stump, confirming what he hoped to be a dream. He roared in disbelief as tears began to appear at the edge of his eyes.

“No, no, no, NO!” Taiga yelled into the room, as Satsuki burst in, followed immediately by Daiki. She rushed to his side.

“Kagami, calm down,” Satsuki pleaded with him, laying a hand on his shoulder to try and soothe him. “Please, you’re going to injure yourself more.”

“What did you do to me?! Why is my leg gone!?” Taiga yelled in response, grabbing her dress and shaking her. “Why … “ he faltered, as tears began to stream down his face, contorted with emotion. “How could you do this to me?” He bowed his head, letting a sob escape, as denial was replaced by reality.

“Let go of her,” Daiki said forcefully, sliding his hands over Taiga’s tightly balled fists. “She did what was needed to save your life,” he murmured gently, feeling Taiga’s fists relax. He gently pried his fingers off Satsuki, giving her a glance that told her to back off. Satsuki immediately stood up as soon as she felt the tension on her dress leave. Daiki could feel Taiga’s hands shaking under his from the shock of losing his leg.

“You need to calm down or you’ll injure yourself. We did what was necessary to save you,” Daiki said firmly. He held Taiga’s shoulders, trying to steady him. “Look at me and breathe evenly,” he said, looking into those tear filled crimson eyes, so different from the ones he remembered in his dream. Taiga looked away from Daiki as his breathing evened out.

“I’m sorry, Lady Momoi,” he whispered quietly. Tears continued to slowly run down his cheeks, as he turned his face away. “I was just shocked to find … “ he faltered, unable to voice his thoughts. He shrugged off Daiki’s touch as he raised a hand to his face, clutching at his mouth. “I need to be alone right now, please,” he mumbled.  

Satsuki opened her mouth to say something, but Daiki steered her towards the door, shushing her. Closing the door behind them, he led her to his dining table.

“There’s nothing we can do right now,” he said. “We should let him be.”

“But . . “ Satsuki started.

“He’s lost everything with that leg,” Daiki replied, tracing the texture of the table with his finger. “There is no way to comfort him right now.”


	4. Chapter 4

Riko sighed, turning her eyes from the window to the tea cup before her. She smiled weakly as the steam wafted into her face, providing a brief warmth.

“He’s out there again,” she said, taking the cup with both hands. She took a sip of the tea, closing her eyes briefly to enjoy its flavor. Setting it down, she looked across the table at Junpei, who was looking outside distractedly.

“It’s not like he can let it go so quickly,” Junpei mumbled. “It happened under his watch, he’s bound to feel guilty regardless of what we tell him.” Riko looked at him sympathetically, laying a hand on his wrist. He pulled it from her grip immediately, throwing her a half-hearted annoyed look and huffing once.

“This isn’t why I asked to meet with you anyways,” Junpei said, changing the subject. “I wanted to get your opinion on the recent peace treaty with Shuutoku. You’d think they’d come at us again after what happened to Taiga.” He scrunched up his face, deep in thought, before taking a sip of tea.

“Do you remember what Tetsuya told us two years ago? It was about a week after Taiga had been recruited.” Riko replied. Seeing Junpei raise an eyebrow in surprise at her question, she continued, “He’d heard from a source --” She smiled as Junpei rolled his eyes. “Yes. I know we know, but I’m using his words, that Shuutoku and Touou had a meeting.”

“Yes. We thought they’d form an alliance of some kind, especially since the tension with Touou was strong at the time,” said Junpei, “but it never materialized. Then it followed with a sequence of . . . oh.” He looked at Riko in realization.

“Exactly, I feel like the two of them are playing us in some sort of game, though I’m not sure what,” said Riko. “One of them keeps finding some conflict with us to start up a war, and then it ends and we have a period of peace before something starts again.”

“At one point, we even had an alliance with Touou as well,” Junpei added. “But that ended with a change in our port policy.”

“They’ve probably been playing with us the whole time, though I’m not entirely sure of their end goal,” said Riko. “But one thing is for sure, Shuutoku slipped up. Ending our most recent conflict like that is bound to put us at unease.”

“Unless,” Junpei started, before pausing. He looked at Riko, who glared at him for keeping her in suspense. “Unless, they’re planning a joint attack on us next,” he finished.

“Nonsense. The other kingdoms wouldn’t stand for it,” Riko bashed down his idea immediately. “If they led a joint attack on us, everyone would get involved for the sake of the balance of power.”

“Well whatever they’re planning,” Junpei said, “it’s not going to bode well for Seirin.”

——————

A gloved finger traced the crevices carved deep into the stone. A reminder of someone’s legacy and another’s failure, Tetsuya thought to himself. He pressed his fist against the black marble of the memorial, as if by sending his life energy into it, it would bring back what was lost. The memory of Taiga’s shocked face as he fell flashed in his mind momentarily before he pushed it away, struggling to maintain his composure as regret and anger, mingled with grief, threatened to overwhelm him again.

“You did not die in vain, Taiga,” Tetsuya whispered to the stone before him. “We were able to reach a peace treaty with Shuutoku today because of that battle.” He closed his eyes briefly, before turning away from the memorial.

_ “It wasn’t your fault, Tetsuya.” _

_ “There was nothing you could do.” _

_ “Nothing you could’ve done would’ve prevented that shot.” _

_ “Nobody blames you for what happened.” _

_ But I blame myself. _

He paused in a darker part of the hall, trying to slow his breathing. He could feel the familiar heat and pressure build up around his eyes again as he took deeper breaths, trying to stop the tears. Focusing on the military drills he would have to supervise later in the day, he managed to regain his composure.

He continued back to his room, pausing at the door as he heard Nigou’s barks of joy. Hesitating, he reached for the door handle slowly, turning it cautiously. He heard the sudden scrape of claws as Nigou turned to the door, clearly ready to ambush him when he returned.

Nigou ran over to Tetsuya, butting his head affectionately against his leg. He barked sharply at Tetsuya’s return, trying his best to bring some joy to the negativity he sensed from him. He smiled softly, bending down to pick up Nigou, who looked up at him, wagging his tail eagerly.

“Tetsu!” Satsuki greeted, from where she was sitting. She smiled at him, sympathy at the edges of her smile. “Nigou was just keeping me company while I was waiting for you to return.”

“Satsuki, you shouldn’t be here,” he said, trying to sound stern. He knew why she was here — Taiga’s death was bound to be news to everyone by now. He sighed, sitting down next to her on his bed. Nigou crawled out of his grip, moving over to Satsuki’s lap instead.

“I know, but I just wanted to see how you’re doing,” she murmured, leaning against him. Tetsuya appreciated her presence, as they sat there quietly. He was glad she didn’t pry or try to comfort him as the others had, and simply let him be.

“How is Daiki?” he asked suddenly, changing the subject. He chuckled as Satsuki’s eyes widened before continuing, “There’s nothing wrong with asking about my brother, is there?”

“No, no, of course not. I was just surprised you’d ask about him suddenly,” Satsuki replied. “He’s been busy . . . he’s found something to keep his hands full right now.” She laughed at a sudden memory.

“That would explain why he didn’t accompany you today,” Tetsuya said, raising an eyebrow slightly in curiosity. “I thought he was moping around after what happened. Is it something you can’t tell me?”

“You’ll see soon, Testu!” Satsuki said, her eyes teasing him. “Don’t worry, I think it’s something you’ll like very much.” Her eyes suddenly widened. “No, you know Daiki! Why would he mope around after what happened to Kagami?”

“Oh, I just thought that he would feel for the loss of his rival,” Tetsuya replied offhandedly, shooting her a cryptic smile. “They did have a promise to battle again after the way the last one ended.”

“Daiki would have had you in an arm choke by now if he knew what you were implying, Tetsu,” Satsuki replied, slapping his arm. “But, I assure you that he isn’t moping, even if he wanted to, his current ‘project’ is keeping him busy.” She suddenly looked out the window, observing the way the sunlight hit the buildings. "I should get going — I said I’d meet Father for dinner.”

“Give him my regards,” Tetsuya called to her, as she climbed through the window. 

“You know I can’t, Tetsu! Then he’d know I’ve come to see you,” she turned her head back and blew a kiss to him. 

Tetsuya smiled at her retreating figure, feeling a weight temporarily lift off his chest. He’d forgotten the comfort that only family could provide, especially at a time like this. 

———————

_ “Don’t tell Tetsu about Kagami when you see him,” Daiki said, as he flipped an egg. “I don’t want him coming over or letting all of Seirin know I saved his ass.” _

_ “I know, I know, you’ve told me multiple times, but are you sure? Tetsu is probably grieving a lot for his best friend,” Satsuki replied, sulking at the dining table. Daiki had banned her from the kitchen while he was making food, telling her for the thousandth time that "unless she wanted to kill someone," she shouldn’t cook.  _

_ Daiki paused in his cooking. He knew his brother would be taking this hard, but there were other issues he’d thought of as well. There was honestly no point in letting Tetsu know while Kagami was still recovering, especially since there was no way to transport Kagami in that state back to Seirin. It’d be better to let him know after Kagami was fitted with a prosthetic leg and could go travel. _

_ “But Tetsu could visit him as well, which would probably raise his spirits,” Satsuki said, breaking his thoughts. “He’d probably be more willing to eat his meals.” _

_ “And run the risk of him being caught, or Kagami found?” Daiki snapped back, glaring at her as she tried to suppress a giggle at her last comment. “Don’t tell him, no matter how sad he is. Just do your best to cheer him up.” _

“I’m sorry, Tetsu,” Satsuki mumbled to no one in particular. “I have to hide this from you for just a bit longer.” She laughed, thinking of Daiki’s last comment. “I wonder how Daiki’s coping, especially since I can’t go back to help him today.”

She mounted her horse, having just slipped back into Touou territory. Tearing off her wig, she sighed with relief as she tossed her hair letting it embrace the wind. At her urging, her horse began trotting leisurely as she took in the views of the countryside. 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! I will try to aim at updating at least once a week!


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There are mentions of suicide in this chapter, just as a warning!

Taiga groaned in irritation, turning to his side briefly before immediately rolling onto his stomach. He hated the empty sensation he got on either side, reminding him of his leg. He could hear Daiki and Satsuki talking, bickering probably from the tones of their voices. He burrowed his face into his pillow, wishing the darkness could whisk him away permanently. 

_“I’m leaving now Daiki, remember the things I told you to do.”_

 Taiga could hear Daiki grunt irritably in response. 

_  “Or else.” _

Taiga could hear the door slam as Satsuki left, probably to attend to her duties, he thought to himself. He adjusted himself under the sheets, pulling the blankets over his head in an attempt to go back to sleep. Sleep was his only escape nowadays, especially after Satsuki had removed all the sharp things that he could possibly use from the room. He peeked through the blankets at his wrist, tightly bandaged after the incident a few days ago. 

_ “Why did you save me!?” Taiga shouted at Daiki as he held him by the arms. “Why are you forcing me to live when I just want to die!” Blood ran down one of his wrists, staining Daiki’s fingers with it. “Just let me go,” he whispered the last words, his chest heaving as he let out a sob. _

_ “Because you have so much to live for,” Daiki replied, spitting out the first thing on his mind and trying to keep his voice level. He looked back desperately at Satsuki, busy digging for medical equipment, for back up. _

_ “I’m useless — as a lieutenant, as a soldier, as a human being now,” Taiga said weakly, bowing his head as if in defeat. “Just put me out of my misery now.” _

_ “Kagami, don’t think like that,” Satsuki said, trying to soothe him. “You can still serve in the military with your experience. Like with advising or planning attacks.” She began wrapping his wrist with a cloth bandage; her hands shaking slightly from what happened just moments ago. “I’m not a man, but I’m still of valuable service to the Touou military.” She could feel the tension slowly leave his body as he resigned himself to his fate. _

Taiga pulled the sheets over his head again, pretending to be asleep when Daiki came in. He could hear Daiki cursing under his breath as he placed a bowl on the desk near him. 

———————

“Damn woman,” Daiki cursed as he poured water into a bowl. Picking up a towel, he continued muttering curse words as he pushed the door open. Looking in, he could see Taiga under the sheets, sleeping. He paused, wondering how he could turn that towards his favor. 

Satsuki had told him that he had to do all the tasks she’d set up for him, or she’d never help him again. He knew that was an empty threat — she’d definitely not let him take care of Taiga’s wounds, but she’d leave him to everything else. Well, for a while until she couldn’t stand watching him struggle anymore. 

_ “You need to change the bedding, his clothes, and give his body a good wash.” Satsuki said, looking at him sternly. “I want it all done by tomorrow when I return.” _

Daiki looked at the sleeping lump in front of him, pondering what he could do while Taiga was asleep, without disturbing him. Changing his clothes or the bedding was out of the question. Although he knew he could get away with acting like an idiot and changing only the sheets on Taiga, he felt a growing twinge of guilt for dragging Satsuki into this whole mess and making extra work for her would only make his guilt worse.

Daiki dipped the towel in water, twisting it slowly to minimize the sound of the water droplets. He gently pried the sheets off Taiga, making sure not to disturb him. He noticed Taiga fidget slightly as some skin became exposed to the air, but nothing else. Daiki examined Taiga’s body, looking for a good place for his hand to enter. Catching sight of the bit of skin peeking out at the end of Taiga’s shirt, he slipped a few wet fingers to lift it up.

Feeling something cold and wet against his skin, Taiga yelped in surprise, causing Daiki to jump back.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing!?” Taiga yelled, turning his head back to look at Daiki. He immediately pulled the ends of his shirt down before flipping over on his back. He propped himself up, glaring at Daiki the whole time, ready for anything else to come.

“I was trying to lift up your shirt to —“ Daiki paused, realizing how bad that sounded. Seeing Taiga’s horrified expression, he tried to correct himself, “No, no, no not like that, idiot! I was just trying to give you a wipe down without waking you up!” He held up the towel, letting Taiga scrutinize it suspiciously.

“Idiot,” Taiga huffed in response. “How do you think you’d be able to give me a wipe down without waking me up!? I can do it myself, just get out.” He leaned over to try and take the towel from Daiki.

“No,” Daiki rejected, pulling the towel out of his reach. “Satsuki’s going to punish me if I let you do any of the work. Anyways you can’t wipe your own back.”

“Why couldn’t she do it then, instead of you? I don’t trust you to do it properly,” Taiga snapped back at Daiki. 

“Because it’s indecent for a lady of her standing to do this kind of thing for a man,” Daiki replied automatically, sighing at Taiga’s ignorance. 

“But she’s a nurse, isn’t she?” Taiga reasoned. “She probably did this all the time during the wars you guys fought with us.” 

“I don’t know, Kagami,” Daiki replied, exasperated. “She just told me I had to do this or she’d leave your care to me solely.” He smirked when that last statement shut Taiga up. When Taiga looked away, he muttered quietly, just barely audible to Taiga, “I win.”

“That doesn’t count,” Taiga replied immediately through gritted teeth, as he lifted his shirt over his head. He flung it aside, in Daiki’s direction. He opened his mouth to say more, but the fire in his eyes suddenly dimmed. He looked away, feeling the dull mood, which had gone during his argument with Daiki, return.

 “Oi,” Daiki said, pulling a stool next to the bed. Finding Taiga unresponsive, he began wiping down Taiga’s body, working in silence. Taiga simply obliged to his simple gestures and commands, lifting his arm or twisting his body when requested. Daiki began rubbing the towel down his right arm, pausing when he came to his bandaged wrist.

“Are you thinking of that again?” Daiki said quietly, before turning away to wet the towel again.

“Does it matter?” Taiga replied indifferently. “Why did you save me anyways? I’m your enemy, aren’t I?” 

“My rival,” Daiki corrected immediately. “I mean,” he corrected himself, looking away as Taiga turned to him, “that our kingdoms aren’t at war right now, so we’re not exactly enemies. Even if we were enemies, I wouldn’t just leave you to die on the side of the river.” He twisted the towel tightly, focusing on the stream of water droplets hitting the surface. “I still need to get back at you,” Daiki added after the water stopped.

“Not in this state,” Taiga said dryly, looking down at the bed. He looked up as Daiki handed him a new shirt, taking it from him. He pulled it over his head, and noticed Daiki looking away awkwardly. “What?” he asked irritably, “Never seen a man change before?" 

“It’s just . . . I have to wipe down your legs and give you a change in pants as well,” Daiki said, looking indirectly at Taiga. 

“Over my dead body,” Taiga responded instantly, raising his arms into a defensive pose.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Once again, thank you for reading! I will do my best with the next chapter ^^


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the longer than usual wait! I had a case of writer's block as well as personal issues. Thank you once again for reading!

_“Even if Daiki is spending time at a brothel again, make sure he shows up tomorrow on the military grounds,” Satsuki’s father said, before taking a light sip of wine. “Commander Imayoshi requested his presence,” he added for emphasis._

_“Why is it so important that he report tomorrow?” Satsuki replied. “Aren’t we at peace right now? And it doesn’t look like Shuutoku or Seirin will provoke us anytime soon, especially after their last war.”_

_“And that’s where you’re wrong, my daughter,” her father replied, smiling gently at her. “It’s a bit early to reveal this, but if things go accordingly, soon we’ll remove Seirin from the map, with half of it becoming part of Touou.”  He began cutting into a piece of steak._

_“Wait… if that happens, what about Tetsu?” Satsuki asked, her eyes widening in shock at what her father revealed._

_“Tetsuya? He’s simply going to be executed along with the other officials when we take over,” her father replied casually, before bringing a piece of steak to his mouth._

_“But he’s your son. You adopted him and Daiki and raised them like they’re your own!” Satsuki shouted in dismay. Her father glared at her, silently reprimanding her for raising her voice. “You can’t just let him be executed,” she continued, her voice shaking at the last word._

_“He gave that up seven years ago when he took on his mother’s maiden name and cut all ties to our family and this country,” her father said forcefully. “He will be treated as a stranger, no, as a traitor, and therefore executed.” He continued eating, waiting for Satsuki’s reponse. Finding none, he looked strictly at Satsuki. “Nothing said here will leave this room, do you understand?”_

_“Yes, father,” she replied, feeling any remaining appetite she had fade away._

Satsuki sighed loudly, as memories from last night weighed heavily on her mind. She turned the key, opening the door to the villa. She hoped Daiki was able to cope with caring for Taiga yesterday, but she didn’t have high hopes for him.

“Daiki?” Satsuki called into the villa, slipping off her shoes and hanging up her traveling cloak. She walked into the main room, finding the kitchen empty and no Daiki in sight. She turned upon hearing a weak groan.

“Kagami!?” she exclaimed, seeing the redhead sit up on the couch, rubbing his eyes. A blanket had been spread over him, clearly by Daiki, since that blanket had been stored in one of the other rooms. “What are you doing here? And where is Daiki?”

Taiga’s sleepy face scrunched up slightly in thought, trying to recall memories from yesterday.

“I don’t know where he is, but I think I fell asleep here, waiting for him to finish changing the bedding,” Taiga replied. He growled before muttering, “Stupid idiot, he should’ve woken me up instead of leaving me out here. I think he might have left already; he mentioned something about going to the capitol or someone would come snooping.”

“That’s good to hear,” she said, placing a hand against her chest and sighing in relief. Looking at Taiga, her relief quickly turned to concern. She knew that Daiki had probably let Taiga lean on him when he moved him out here, but she wasn’t sure if she could support a man about a foot taller than her. “Now about getting you back to bed…”

———————

Daiki urged his horse onward, trying to make it to the military grounds before noon. He looked up at the sun, trying to gauge how much time he had left to get to the capitol. Realizing he had more than enough time, he slowed down its pace, taking in the fresh air. Memories of yesterday flashed back in his mind, causing him to scoff irritably at himself.

“Rival,” he mumbled to himself, “What the hell was I saying … it’s the exact same thing as enemy.” But it isn’t.  He ignored his thoughts, instead double checking he had everything he needed. He pulled out his sword, examining the blade and pausing at a deep nick at the center of the it.

_“Kagami, you idiot,” Daiki growled angrily, stepping back to examine his sword. “Nobody crosses their blades with their opponent like that.” He turned his head back to watch his troops returning back to the other side of the border, where a messenger sat on horseback, waiting._

_“I wanted to take this duel,” Taiga replied sheepishly. He examined his sword as well, finding a nick, similar to that of Daiki’s on it. “This can be a mark for next time,” he said looking up at Daiki, a slight smile playing on his lips. “Promise for next battle.”_

_“If there is a next time,” Daiki scoffed, “Didn’t you hear? There is a peace treaty.” He turned to leave, pausing briefly to tilt his head back towards Taiga. “Let’s not meet on the battlefield anytime soon, because next time I’m getting even with you.”_

_———_

_Taiga sighed loudly, looking out into the grassy field. His head was turned away from the soft sounds of grass being cut as Daiki slashed at an invisible opponent. He clenched his fist tightly once, before loosening his grip._

_“What’s wrong with you?” Daiki called out to him, as he walked over, the grass leaning gently with the wind against his legs. He tossed his sword into the grass. “You’ve been quiet all morning. If you’re thinking of —“_

_“I’m not thinking of that!” Taiga growled, still refusing to look at Daiki. “I just can’t help but think about how I’ll never be able to fulfill my end of our promise.”_

_“What promise?” Daiki asked, bending down to look at Taiga, raising an eyebrow inquisitively. His face changed immediately, as he replied, “Oh. That one.” He walked away nonchalantly, causing Taiga to glare at him as he disappeared into the villa._

_Taiga opened his mouth to shout something as he watched the other man drag out a chair, but didn’t know what to say. He could only watch, intrigued as the other man dropped the chair in front of him._

_“Here,” said Daiki, holding up a stick he found nearby. “We can do it this way. I’ve given myself an appropriate handicap as well.” He took a seat in the chair across from Taiga, holding another stick in the other hand._

_Taiga simply stared at him, speechless. He didn’t know whether to laugh at Daiki’s ridiculous idea or be touched at his sudden thoughtfulness. Daiki waved the stick in front of his face irritably._

_“Well, aren’t you going to take it and fight me?” Daiki said. “Or do I have to formally challenge you, you, lowly lieutenant?” he teased, smirking devilishly._

_“Oh no you don’t,” Taiga laughed, snatching the stick. He took a swing at Daiki’s stick, starting a round of casual exchanges. He leaned back and forth in his chair, missing the ability to be able to move fully, but enjoying the slight advantage he had now that Daiki’s swift legwork was out of play. Their focus was broken by a loud snap, as a forceful blow from Daiki’s stick broke Taiga’s._

_“There,” Daiki said, “it’s settled. Now we’re even and back to square one.” He dropped his stick, folding his arms with a smug look on his face._

_“That wasn’t fair!” Taiga protested, holding up his broken stick and looking at Daiki’s on the ground. “Yours was thicker, so mine would have broken first!”_

Daiki laughed at the memory as his finger brushed the nick. He slipped it back into its sheath, looking out into the meadows. The grass gently waving in the wind was the same kind as yesterday, when they’d gone through several rounds in his yard, breaking multiple sticks in the process. A herding boy stared at him in surprise as he briefly raised a hand at him.

“God damn it, I feel like Tetsu,” he said to himself, pulling on his usual stern expression as he faced forward, a village coming into his line of sight.

 


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello my lovely readers! I'm so sorry for the late update OTL I've been busy with midterms during the three weeks since I've updated and then a massive writing block hit me. Thank you for waiting this long and bearing with me! (prev note about chapter 8 was taken off because it turned out to be a pretty pivotal chapter so I will take time [for school] but also to plan a lot for coming chapters)

Taiga picked idly at his breakfast, breaking the fried layer of egg and letting the yolk run. He lifted his fork up slightly, watching as the yolk dribbled off the edges into food below. Sighing at more than his lack of appetite, he turned to place it on the bedside drawer. Falling back into the pillows, a glint caught his eye, reminding him of what he should be doing instead of laying in bed.

He turned over in bed, to look away, but felt the sudden emptiness of his leg, again. Slamming his hand on the sheets in irritation, he rolled onto his stomach, sliding his hands under the pillow as he buried his face into it. He pressed his face into the darkness, wishing it would make him forget what he heard last night. Finding it suffocating before long, he turned his head to the side, staring off into space.

He heard Daiki slam the door open as he barged into the room. His skin crawled slightly as he felt Daiki’s eyes on him for a brief moment before hearing the delicate click of the door closing. Propping himself up quietly with a slight shuffle of sheets, he turned his head around to shoot a glare at Daiki for having “disturbed” him.

“Do you think that I didn’t — “ Taiga started, caught off guard before abruptly changing the subject, “What are you doing!?”

“Changing,” Daiki said nonchalantly, as he finished sliding his arms out of his shirt. “I normally do it while you’re asleep or in the living room, but I have a meeting to go to, so I can’t wait.” He tossed it into a bin, before pulling out his military uniform, the light reflecting off the gold buttons catching his eye. “Stop staring, I thought you were asleep.”

“What is this meeting about?” Taiga asked quietly, ignoring Daiki’s command.

“None of your business. It’s just military affairs of Touou — it doesn’t concern you,” Daiki replied, his voice raising slightly on the last clause. He did the last button at his neck, checking the alignment and himself out in the mirror, raising his head and shooting the mirror a satisfied smirk.

“It doesn’t?” Taiga replied immediately, “Or does it?” He growled the last words, glaring fiercely at Daiki. Daiki turned to look at him, raising an eyebrow irritably.

“What are you talking about Kagami?” Daiki said, folding his arms. “What my superiors and I discuss doesn’t affect you at all. Just focus on getting better so I can be rid of you.” He bit his lip, realizing how harsh that last bit came out, but his pride kept him waiting for Taiga’s response instead.

“You’re discussing Seirin,” Taiga snarled back at him, ignoring Daiki’s expression of surprise as he continued to raise his voice. “And that concerns me, especially since you’re clearly planning an attack. Maybe that’s why you’re keeping me here even though I’ve healed enough to get a prosthetic leg!”

“I don’t know what you’re implying Kagami, but it’s because Satsuki and I haven’t found a doctor we can trust yet!” Daiki started shouting. “And why would I want to keep you here — it’s such a huge burden on me, the longer you stay here the more likely I am to be caught! Don’t go thinking it’s my pleasure to keep you here.” He huffed loudly as he slammed the closet door shut.

“Good! It’s not like I enjoy being here either. Just get rid of me already, there’s nothing keeping you from dumping me back on the riverside!” Taiga shouted back, his temper rising with Daiki’s.. They both glared at each other for a minute before the door slammed open, causing the both of them to jump.

“Daiki!” Satsuki scolded him, turning to glare at him. “And Kagami, both of you stop arguing!” She didn’t spare Taiga her scathing glare either.  “I could hear the both of you from my room! What’s going on?”

Daiki tsk’d loudly, pulling out a pair of pants from a drawer and storming out of the room. Satsuki grabbed him by the sleeve but he shook her off forcefully. She winced slightly as he slammed the door to the bathroom. She turned towards Taiga, but he’d thrown the sheets over his head as he pretended to go back to sleep. Sighing with exasperation, she made a mental note to pry it out of Daiki later.

Hearing Satsuki close the door, Taiga sighed trying to cool down after that heated argument.  He’d been taken aback by Daiki calling him a burden, but that summed up how he felt. Especially after hearing about Seirin’s situation, it only caused the frustration that had been building slowly to suddenly boil over. His inability to even return to his fellow comrades during a time like this only made him feel more useless. Even if he could, he still wouldn’t be able to do anything to help defend Seirin.

_“Daiki, we need to talk, now that Kagami is asleep,” Satsuki's voice echoed lightly in the living room. Taiga had been falling into the lull of sleep when he’d heard the door outside close. His curiosity nudged him awake, as he sat up in the dark room, listening intently for more._

_“Is it about the next military venture?” Daiki replied wearily, “I already know about it. Imayoshi told all the officers today at a meeting. I don’t know how it’ll be done, but if it’s him it’ll get done.”_

_“Father mentioned briefly last week that the alliance between Shuutoku and Touou would come to fruition and eliminate Seirin,” Satsuki replied, causing Taiga’s eyes to widen in shock. He leaned forward towards the door in order to catch more of the conversation._

_“Tch, the old fool told you too much —,” Daiki replied, pausing as Satsuki slapped him for calling their father that. “The plans are supposed to stay within the military though, but now that you know I might as well tell you, considering you’re one of the strategists.”_

_“They probably left me out of the meeting because I’m the only one who still has a close relationship to Tetsu,” Satsuki said, pondering why she wasn’t invited, and emphasizing the last bit._

_“I don’t want you to get started on that now, I know what I did,” Daiki dismissed her, changing the subject. “The problem is that Imayoshi has a sound strategy this time to eliminate Seirin and prevent the other countries from justifying an attack on us or Shuutoku,” Daiki continued, pouring water into a glass from what Taiga could hear._

_“But the balance of power?” Satsuki started, but faltered, knowing what was to come._

_“It’s to prevent greedy land grabs like what we and  Shuutoku are trying to do, but Imayoshi’s found a loophole in the treaty,” Daiki replied. Taiga listened in suspense, his hands balled into fists in a mixture of anger and frustration. “If we put Seirin on the offensive though, then war will be justified and the other countries cannot do anything to save Seirin when we destroy it.”_

_“But that’s impossible, Seirin has always been in a defensive position,” Satsuki said, “There’s no way they’d ever attack us or Shuutoku.”_

_“You know our commander, he’ll find a way to provoke them,” Daiki replied in a low voice before taking a sip of water._

Taiga rolled over in bed, catching sight again of his cleaned military uniform hanging in the corner, untouched for days and taunting him, reminding him of the duties he could no longer perform. He had to get back and warn everyone about what was to come, to prevent them from falling into the trap that was probably being set. But he didn’t know how. The last few days he’d been distracted by Daiki and Satsuki, who, when he looked back, were probably doing it to keep him from feeling depressed. Thinking back to that he felt even more pathetic than before, receiving their pity and wasting time while his nation was in danger.

Suddenly feeling overwhelmed under the warm sheets, he threw them off to the side, sitting up. Using his arms, he rotated his body so his leg was hanging off the side of the bed. He hesitated for a moment, sighing before he reached for the crutches, which Satsuki had snuck out from the infirmary after the last time she tried moving him. When he’d first gotten them, he’d been excited as it allowed for him to feel more independent, but in this moment it just reminded him of his disability.

As his fingers gripped the wood, memories came flashing back into his mind of the storm, his father, and washing up on the shores of Seirin. He’d been so lost then, landing in a foreign country with no knowledge of the language, but by a lucky chance, Tetsuya and the Seirin army had taken him in and he’d found a new family there. One that he couldn’t let go a second time he realized, as he gathered his resolve and pushed himself off the bed with a soft grunt of effort. He’d find a way back to Seirin soon.  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you as always for reading - I will continue to do my best with the story! I tend to post status updates at my writing blog - teerax-scribbles.tumblr.com - feel free to check there/drop me asks concerning the story!


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this chapter took so long! I have finals this week so I've been off preparing for those and writing during my study breaks and plus I realized after writing a different and much poorer quality version of chapter 8 that I had to step back and plan and figure things out again ^^'. 
> 
> I meant for this to have been published yesterday but no ideas flowed til the day after haha.
> 
> And thank you to all those who've commented!!! I appreciate your comments a lot, although I'm not good at responding (because I'm not sure what else to say but thank you).
> 
> [Tags have changed also due to my recent planning just fyi for any of my readers]

Daiki raised his head with a start at the slight tapping on his shoulder. He glared sleepily, seeing Ryou cringe when he looked at him. He mouthed an apology to Daiki before pointing towards Shouichi, who had paused in his talking to look at him. Seeing Daiki had awoken, he continued talking, pointing to a map at the front of the room that Daiki just couldn’t care enough to look at right now.

Within minutes, Daiki’s eyelids fluttered, trying not to yield to the soothing warmth of the afternoon sun enveloping him with its light. He could feel the lull of sleep come back, and simply gave in to the darkness, falling asleep once more. Hearing the scraping of chairs, he woke up and prepared to leave as well before Shouichi motioned towards him to not leave yet.

“Daiki, I need to talk to you. Come with me to my office,” Shouichi said, motioning for him to follow. As they walked down the hallway silently, Daiki could see the empty courtyard below, the late afternoon sun casting long shadows. Sighing irritably he was expecting another lecture reprimanding him for sleeping through “such an important meeting” again. His father had probably grown tired of lecturing him and passed it onto the commander.

“Have a seat,” Shouichi had opened the door and was showing Daiki in. Daiki huffed irritably in response before taking a seat in one of the arm chairs. He leaned back, crossing his legs as he made himself comfortable. If the room had been as warm as the meeting room, then he probably could have fallen asleep, but it was facing away from the sun leaving it in darkness and shadow.

His commander took a seat behind his desk, taking a look at Daiki before cracking a smile. Daiki glared back at him, expecting for him to say something about sleeping as his father had done multiple times for the last few years.

“Well, aren’t you going to get on with it?” Daiki demanded, feeling annoyed that Shouichi was wasting more of his time on top of that meeting.

“With scolding you?” he replied, “No, your father’s probably going to take care of that. I’m just going to fill you in on some of the information you missed while you dozed off.”

“You don’t need to,” Daiki interrupted, waving his hand. “As long as I know where I need to go and who my opponent is, it’s fine. I’ll bring us victory. I don’t need all the technical stuff and political maneuvering you guys discuss at meetings.”

“Which was fine,” Shouichi replied, pausing briefly, “but this time some of our plans directly involve you, especially since you have connections in Seirin.”

“Tetsu is out of the picture,” Daiki broke in firmly, sitting up in his chair as he crossed his arms. “He would never betray Seirin even if I asked him to, and I don’t plan on doing so.”

“He was always in the picture, Daiki. And I know how Tetsuya is — I’ve worked with him before,” Shouichi said calmly, ignoring his rude cut in. “I assume you were sleeping through this discussion at the last meeting, but do you know what will happen to the officials in the Seirin government?”

“They’ll probably be imprisoned for sometime while you,” Daiki paused, “or some other official tries to break their wills to prevent rebellion, in accordance to standard procedure. Those who can’t be broken will . . .“

“Exactly,” Shouichi started, after waiting for a moment in silence, “And we both know your brother will be one of those in the latter group, so here is what I would like to propose.” He leaned back in his chair, placing his arms behind his head as he continued speaking. “In exchange for information that you obtain from him and any other connections you may have, which will provoke war, I will ensure his life is spared when Seirin is done away with. Basically information for your brother’s life.”

Daiki opened his mouth to say something else, but Shouichi cut him off with a wave of his hand.

“You don’t need to agree or disagree. I will simply swear to act accordingly to your actions,” he said giving Daiki another long thin-lipped smile, “You’re dismissed for now.”

Daiki stood up swiftly and left the room, forgetting to observe proper military procedure as he left the room. He cursed himself as he walked swiftly down the hall for showing that Shouichi had gotten to him, but he had. Even if he had never shown that much affection for his brother, he was still the only family he had left after their parents had been killed years ago during the civil wars that had dissolved the once glorious Teikou Empire.  

_“Stay here with your brother while I get Daddy,” his mother said to him. He could feel her fingers shaking slightly as they held his round cheeks. “Promise me that you won’t move until I come back, okay?”_

_“I promise, Mommy,” he said eagerly. “Right, Tetsu? We’ll wait for Mommy here.” Tetsuya nodded eagerly staring at his mother with his light blue eyes. She embraced both of them tightly, hesitating before letting them go. As she ran back into the palace, she turned back with a sad smile at the two of them._

_They both sat under the stairs, not moving like their mother told them. Daiki covered Tetsuya’s ears when he began hearing screams of fear and pain, followed by gunshots in the distance. He tried hard not to cry, as a sudden realization began to sink into his chest._

_Suddenly their mother appeared again in front of them, tears streaming down her beautiful face as she crouched into their hiding place. Holding a finger to her lips, she shushed both of them as they began to exclaim in joy. Picking up Tetsuya in her arm and holding Daiki’s hand with her free hand, she ran, eventually picking Daiki up as well when he tired._

_“Where’s Daddy?” Daiki asked her._

_“Is he coming later?” Tetsuya chipped in._

_“He isn’t coming,” she said, blinking rapidly to try and hold back the tears that wouldn’t stop coming. Gunshots suddenly rang out from behind them as people screamed in warning. Their mother stumbled once before falling to the ground._

_Daiki and Tetsuya cried out in surprise as they fell with their mother. She lay on the ground, panting, with her arms still around her children, her face level with theirs. Daiki could feel a warmth that wasn’t his seep into his clothes, causing them to stick to his skin._

_“Shhhh,” his mother said quietly to the both of them, “Don’t cry or they will come and kill you two. If they come over, you have to play a game with them, okay? Pretend you’re sleeping but hold your breath. Remember how Daddy used to play that game with you? Make sure to do it when they come over and don’t let go until they leave. Mommy will always love you,” she whispered to both of them. She kissed Tetsuya’s cheek, holding him close to her._

_“Always protect your brother,” she whispered into Daiki’s ear, before giving him a kiss as well. Her eyes filled with tears as she closed them, lying in wait with them. Daiki saw Tetsuya had closed his as well and followed suit._

_He held his breath as he heard the dirt crunch as several pairs of feet approached them. The weight on his body suddenly disappeared as his mother was kicked over._

_“It seems we got Lady Aomine as well,” came a low voice. “And her two children from the looks of it. We should tell the commander we’ve eliminated one of the noble families. He’ll be pleased to hear we’ve surpassed his expectations.” Daiki heard their retreating footsteps, opening an eye slightly to watch as they disappeared from sight._

_He sat up and crawled over to his mother, shaking her gently._

_“It’s okay Mommy. They’re gone now, you can stop playing,” he whispered. Tears began to stream down his face as his brother joined his side. “Come on Mommy. The game is over.” Tetsuya began to cry silently as Daiki shook their mother several more times, but her eyes refused to open, refused to allow him to look into the dark blue so much like his ever again._  

That was the day that ensured he and his brother would go down their separate paths, he thought. Remembering his mother’s tearstained face and her last words to him strengthened his resolve. He would have to do this for Tetsu, even if it was against his wishes. As he struggled under another wave of conflicting emotions that swirled in his heart, he mounted his horse, urging it in the direction of his favorite brothel to take his mind off things.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, thank you for reading and I will continue giving it my best!


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for my much more infrequent and slow updates (and thank you for still coming back despite this)!!!

Taiga sighed irritably as he watched Satsuki stirring at the stove. He shifted in his seat at the dining table, feeling impatience gnaw at his insides with a mix of other emotions he couldn’t process right now. As much as he tried to suppress it, unpleasant memories kept cropping up that morning, ones he shouldn’t be dwelling on when he should be focusing on getting back.

“How does this taste, Kagami?” Satsuki asked, holding a spoonful of stew to his face.  He tasted it without thinking, clutching his open mouth in surprise as a burning sensation filled his mouth. Satsuki repressed a giggle, watching Taiga struggle to cool the hot stew in his mouth.

“Perfect,” Taiga managed to say, after emptying the cup of water he had nearby. “I think it’s ready, just take it off the fire and let it sit for a bit while you get the rice.” He couldn’t help but smile slightly when Satsuki smiled at his praise. He began to reach for his crutches before she slapped his hand.

“Where are you going? If you’re thinking of trying to help me do things, don’t,” she said sternly. Realizing that might’ve come out too harshly, she added, “You already helped me with cooking by giving me directions and cutting things up for the stew.”

“That’s only because I’m tired of eating the same thing everyday for the last week,” Taiga replied back, reaching for them again. 

“Daiki does know how to cook only a few dishes,” Satsuki said, moving his crutches out of reach before clearing the table. She could see Taiga sit back in his chair, huffing in frustration, as she collected the cutting board and leftover vegetables. She stepped back into the kitchen, taking the pot of stew off the stove and scooping out the slightly burnt rice into bowls. “Sorry about the rice,” she apologized, placing one bowl in front of Taiga and the other at her seat. She quickly followed with the pot, dipping a ladle in the stew. 

“It’s fine. I’ve eaten worse than some burnt rice,” Taiga said, remembering when Tetsuya had given him a meal Satsuki had packed for him when she visited. He’d been bedridden for some time afterwards only leaving bed to crawl to the bathroom. He shuddered slightly at the memory.

“When you were a beggar, right? From what I’ve heard from Daiki, he met you when you were a still a beggar,” Satsuki replied, mixing the stew with some rice before taking a bite. 

“Mm,” Taiga simply replied as he began shoveling food into his mouth, not wanting to continue on that track. If it hadn’t been for Daiki then, he’d probably still be homeless on the streets or dead by now. He sighed into his empty bowl before scooping more stew. Another thing he owed Daiki for on top of this, he thought to himself. Shaking his head, he tried to get Daiki out of his head for the umpteenth time that day.

“ _It’s such a huge burden on me_ ,” Daiki’s voice echoed in his mind again. He focused on eating the stew in his mouth, tasting the slight acidity of the tomatoes and feeling the mushy texture of the carrots. Feeling Satsuki’s gaze on him, he slowed down the pace his eating pace, trying to appear calm. It irritated him how he cared about what Daiki thought of him -- he shouldn’t care at all, but it struck a nerve, stirring up memories he’d buried long ago.

_“Daddy, can I come with you?” Taiga shouted, tugging on his father’s coat. “I’m ten years old now! I’m big enough now to come with you.” He looked up at his father with pleading eyes, but his father refused to look at him._

_“Taiga,” he said gently, bringing a hand down to ruffle his hair, a dark red like his father’s. “I’ll tell you when I think you’re ready to set sail with me, remember? I promise I’ll bring you along when you’re old enough, but you’re still too young right now.” He gently pried Taiga’s fingers off his coat. “You should go check on your grandfather -- I think he wanted you to bring him water.”_

_Taiga nodded his head sadly, dragging his feet as he climbed up the stairs. His father was almost never home and when he was, he was always out in the back with his work, too busy to give him any attention. His mother had died when he was really young, though no one ever told him why or how. The only memory he had of her was the scent of her perfume and her voice the last time he saw her, when she told him to be a good boy and she’d see him soon._

_“You never spend enough time with Taiga. The poor boy has seen you for less than a day since you’ve returned and now you’re going to leave him again!” he heard his aunt Alex scold his father. “If you spent more time with him, he wouldn’t be asking to accompany you all the time. You’re all he has left other than his grandfather.”_

_“I . . . I know,” his father finally replied after a long silence. “But I have to keep up the family business since Father has fallen ill, and at his age, Taiga would be nothing more than a burden if I brought him along. If something happened, he’d just hinder the crew.” Taiga could hear his aunt slap his father._

_“You don’t give Taiga enough credit,” she refuted. “Yes he isn’t the brightest child, but it doesn’t mean he’s completely witless. I highly doubt that what happened to --” She paused for a moment. Taiga stepped down the steps until both adults came into view, but just barely out of their sight. He could see his father holding up a hand for his aunt to stop talking._

_“You don’t know that,” his father murmured quietly, just barely loud enough for Taiga to catch. “I don’t want to lose him like I did with his mother. He’s all I have left.”_

Satsuki watched Taiga out of the corner of her eye as she began eating, realizing she’d somehow touched a nerve. Considering his argument earlier, bringing up Daiki was probably the wrong idea. She didn’t know what had sparked it, but she’d have to scold Daiki later for being insensitive and calling Taiga a burden, even if it was in the moment. He should’ve remembered how conscious Taiga was of his injury. She heard him sigh heavily as he slowed down his eating, chewing much too slowly and deliberately to be simply enjoying the meal.

It explained why Taiga was suddenly so much more proactive instead of laying quietly in bed whenever one of his spells of depression hit, or sitting in the chair Daiki left out in the field for “fresh air.” Soon after Daiki had left, he came into the living room declaring he wanted to help her cook lunch today, justifying it by saying he was tired of eating the same three things every day. Yet Satsuki could see the frustration on his face as he struggled to find a way to carry the ingredients and supplies to the table, since he couldn’t prepare everything without a seat. He refused vehemently to let her help, but gave in at the end after dropping a few of the vegetables without being able to pick them up.

“Kagami,” she said, waiting for him to look up at her before continuing, “I heard part of your argument with Daiki, and I just wanted to say that Daiki and I don’t think you’re a burden at all, regardless of what he said this morning. We --”

“I know,” Taiga interrupted her. “Don’t continue. I don’t want your pity or anything; it’ll just make me feel worse about myself — about how I can’t even fully function as a human being.” He took another spoonful of stew, chewing on it as he seemed to collect his thoughts before swallowing. “I want to return to Seirin though. I think I’ve overstayed my time here.”

“No you’re not!” Satsuki immediately jumped in, her eyes widening at his last two statements. “As Daiki said we’re still looking for someone to fit and make you a prosthetic leg, but since all of the doctors are now affiliated with the military it’s grown difficult. Mostly because the political environment in Touou isn’t the most amiable towards Seirin right now.”

“I heard when you and Aomine were talking about it,” Taiga replied quietly, clenching one of his fists. “That’s why I have to return to Seirin. I belong there, especially at such a critical time.” He looked into Satsuki’s eyes, and she knew.

Regardless of Daiki’s wishes, she doubted that they’d be able to find a doctor who wouldn’t leak the information to her father or the commander. At this point, it’d be best at this point to let Taiga find a doctor in Seirin instead of Touou. For that she’d have to let Tetsuya know that she and Daiki have been hiding Taiga’s survival from him for the last two weeks. She suppressed her laughter at the thought of how Tetsuya would react to the news that Daiki had been purposefully hiding this from him for so long. Taiga looked curiously at her, noticing her brief smile before she raised her hand to her mouth to disguise her sudden mirth.

“Sorry I was just thinking of something else,” Satsuki said, after regaining control. “I can help you with returning back to Seirin though,” she added, smiling as Taiga’s face lit up. “I’ll go and see Tetsu after I clean up lunch, and we’ll see from there.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, thank you for reading! I will try to update more regularly now that I'm on summer break though I'm somewhat at the mercy of my own creativity!!! ^^'   
> If there are any delays (as in longer than 3 weeks in between updates) I'll usually throw up a status update on my writing blog)  
> I'll continue doing my best!


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the long update!!! My brother's graduation and cleaning house for party kind of took time away and then this chapter in general was just harder to write because I didn't know what I was doing 60-90% of the time.  
> I would like to say thanks to Jiyoun (kurokoyumi.tumblr.com) for all her help talking out plot and stuff with me to work things out (for the last few chapters as well but I forgot to mention her because I'm an awful person x.x) And for being my beta!!!

“I think our best course of action for now would be to watch the border with Shuutoku,” Riko said, looking slowly at all the other officers at the table. “From our sources, they’ve suffered much heavier losses than they’ve been letting on and are taking this peacetime to recover. It’s unlikely they’ll stay quiet for long.”

“I agree. There is nothing we can do to prevent another war with Shuutoku if they want it,” Teppei added. “But there are things we can do so we’re not caught off guard, such as fortifying the border.” He placed his elbow on the table, resting his chin in the palm of his hand, waiting for any responses.

“Since there aren’t any objections to this approach, and I’m seeing some agreement, we’ll end today’s meeting,” Junpei said a moment later, catching sight of Mitobe’s silent nod of agreement along with those of a few others. “Those in charge of units along the border should meet me in my office after this, otherwise you’re all dismissed.” As everyone began to leave, he collected his papers and notes back into a folder. He felt a slight nudge on his shoulder, and looked to his left irritably.

“Tetsuya’s not joining the others in your office?” Shun asked him, using his eyes and eyebrows to motion slightly towards the light-haired man leaving the room.

“No he isn’t; he requested to be reassigned to another position for now,” Junpei replied, standing up. “He’ll be on the front lines if war does break out, but he should have his mind off that area for now.” He paused for a moment before nudging Shun. “Come on, walk with me to my office.”

The two stepped into the hallway, and began walking towards Junpei’s office.

“Commander,” came a voice from behind them, causing both of them to jump in surprise. Behind them, to neither person’s surprise, was Tetsuya. “There was no time before the meeting, but here is the information you asked me to collect.” Tetsuya handed a folder to Junpei, before bowing to both of them.

“Thank you, I’d forgotten about this,” Junpei said as he opened it, quickly flipping through the pages. “This should be good enough for now, you’re dismissed.”

Tetsuya lowered his head briefly in acknowledgement before turning around, walking towards his own office. Soldiers walking past by bowed their heads briefly as he raised a hand in greeting before hurrying on to their duties.

Pushing the door of his office open, he heard a faint swish. Placing a hand on the dagger at his belt, he looked around cautiously, looking for anything out of the ordinary. Using his other hand, he pushed the door behind him closed, while still facing the room. His eye caught sight of one of the curtains, which didn’t flow with the wind like the other.

“I know you’re there,” he said into the room, “Reveal yourself now, before I have to harm you.” His eyes widened slightly in surprise as the tension began to leave his muscles at the sight of Satsuki’s long pink hair appearing in sight. She peeked out cautiously, before stepping out from behind the curtains.

“Sorry, Tetsu! I didn’t know if it was you or someone else entering the room!” she apologized, flinging herself at him for a hug. Tetsuya sighed lightly and put a hand on her back affectionately.

“Why are you here, Satsuki? You normally don’t come to visit me at my office,” Tetsuya asked, loosening himself from her embrace and motioning to a chair. “Is there an emergency?”

“No, don’t worry. It’s just I have something important to discuss with you,” she replied taking a seat.

“About?” Tetsuya pried, looking at her inquisitively.

“Kagami,” she replied instantly, waiting for the shock to leave Tetsuya’s face before continuing.  

\------------------

Daiki groaned in pain, finding himself suddenly on the floor slightly curled up. The side of his body touching the floor screamed slightly in a pain dulled by the alcohol. Pushing himself up almost immediately, he sat up and tried again to remove his boots, in a rather childish way. His fingers clumsily fumbled with the straps before he finally removed one, then the other. Tossing them aside in irritation, he looked up and suddenly started laughing at the two shapes the boots made in the dark room.

Standing up, he made his way to the kitchen, wanting to satiate the burning thirst in his throat. He stumbled over something again, expecting to land on the hard floor but found himself on hard muscle. Before he could react, a hand smashed itself into his face before another shoved him off, causing him to collide with drawers nearby. Growling angrily he looked up to find Taiga glaring at him.

“What the fuck was that for, Kagami? I just happened trip,” he said, his voice rising slightly. He glared back at Taiga, propping himself up before sitting up.

“You reek of alcohol and that fucking hurt. I was just laying here and suddenly you landed on top of me!” Taiga nearly yelled back, trying to keep his voice even to hide his flaring anger at Daiki. Daiki paused as he tried to process fully what Taiga said.

“You’re on kitchen floor,” Daiki finally said, smiling at his words.

“What about it?” Taiga huffed, eyes averting Daiki’s gaze.

“You wouldn’t be there without some reason,” Daiki replied. “Unless you’re here waiting for your next meal tomorrow.” He laughed at his own joke before continuing, “But, why?”

“I tried getting a drink of water and fell,” Taiga started after a long hesitation. “And I hit my arm pretty hard, so it’s too difficult for me to stand on my own.” His voice lowered on the last few words.

“Look I know you don’t want to feel useless, or whatever Satsuki said,” the other replied, “but you should’ve asked her to get you water if it’s dark. Satsuki!” He paused waiting for her to come out.

“She’s not here you idiot!” Taiga threw a spoon that had fallen at Daiki’s head when he opened his mouth to shout again. It made contact, but Daiki ignored it. 

“Where the hell did she go then?” Daiki asked, continuing before Taiga could say anything. “She probably went to see her fucking old man,” he muttered darkly.

“Hey, he’s your father, too, even if you are adopted,” Taiga reprimanded him. “Show some respect.”

“My father is dead, Kagami,” Daiki replied bluntly, brushing him off. “That man just adopted me to use my name and my strength . . . just like everyone else who’s approached me.” He sighed at a memory of earlier that day, looking away from Taiga.  

“Not me,” Taiga replied right away, causing Daiki’s gaze to shoot up at him. “And Tetsuya and Lady Momoi,” he added, rattling on, “Uh, I mean Tetsuya obviously wouldn’t because he’s your brother, but . . “

Daiki looked away from Taiga, feeling his chest tighten a bit. He growled, pushing away unnecessary things when Shouichi’s voice rang in his ears, “ _from him and any other connections_.” He paused letting the last few words sink in with realization.

“Why the fuck do you have to be here!?” Daiki lashed out suddenly, taking Taiga by surprise. He knew he shouldn’t be blaming Taiga for his current situation, but with the sudden realization compounded by all the conflicting feelings he thought had been buried by alcohol, he couldn’t help it.

“Well, you’re the one who brought me here!” Taiga shouted back, angry and confused by Daiki’s sudden outburst. “I didn’t ask to be saved — you should’ve just left me to die then. I know I’m a huge burden on you that’s why I’m going to leave soon.”

“That’s not it! I was talking about in general — never mind you wouldn’t understand,” Daiki snapped back. “I’ve never thought of you as a burden anyways, it was just something I said in the moment because you riled me up this morning.”

“It’s not like you didn’t think that at some point though,” Taiga replied darkly, irritated with Daiki’s response. “And what do you mean in general!? The fact that I exist!? Then just kill me now, I can’t run away anyways.”

“Is that a challenge, Kagami? Don’t think I won’t take it,” Daiki replied threateningly, unsheathing a dagger at his side. He stood up and strode next to Taiga, squatting down near his chest. “I could kill you right now and you wouldn’t be able to do anything about it.”

“You wouldn’t dare,” Taiga growled back, his body tensed to react. Daiki could perceive the fear in his eyes veiled underneath the aggression. Taiga looked back into his eyes, which had cleared up from earlier, but it didn’t mean the alcohol had cleared his system yet. He hadn’t expected Daiki to take on his bluff, but he should’ve remembered Daiki was drunk.

“What the fuck,” Daiki sighed, stabbing the drawer right above Taiga. “I saved you for a reason. I’m not going to just kill you that easily.” He sat down on the kitchen tile, looking briefly at Taiga before looking away.

“You’ve never answered the other time I asked, but why did you save me?” Taiga asked, breaking the silence. He’d try taking his chances on Daiki answering while he was under the influence of alcohol.

“I don’t know,” Daiki replied. “Does there have to be a reason to save someone?”

“You just said you had a reason!” Taiga said.

“I just said that,” Daiki snapped back at him.

“Liar,” Taiga scoffed.

“What about you, then?” Daiki said, his temper rising again. “Why would you save me if the situation was reversed?” He expected that to shut Taiga up, smirking when a good minute had passed.

“Because you’re my rival,” Taiga finally answered, “And you have to be alive so I can surpass you.” He looked at the drawers next to him, away from Daiki. “There, now you have to answer me.”

“You’re a simple minded fool, Kagami,” Daiki scoffed, “You don’t need a reason like that to save someone. I couldn’t just let you die because I knew you, that’s all.” Before Taiga could say anything else, he changed the subject, “Aren’t you tired of laying there? I’ll help you back up before I go to sleep. I’m tired after today.”

“This arm isn’t your hurt one right?,” Daiki murmured, suddenly lifting Taiga’s left arm. Seeing Taiga nod his head, he pulled Taiga’s arm behind his neck, along his shoulders as Taiga grabbed at the edge of the counter above. With a bit of effort, they both managed to bring Taiga to his foot. “I’ll get your crutches later.”

Daiki supported Taiga as he hopped along next to him, trying not to lean too much on him. At times when Taiga landed poorly, he’d fall over onto Daiki, cursing slightly under his breath. Neither said a word to the other the whole trip through the living room, focusing on getting Taiga back to the bedroom.

They both sighed in relief once they arrived in Daiki’s room. Taiga sat down onto the bed, and lifted his leg up to lay down. He closed his eyes, enjoying the way the blankets molded around his body with their softness unlike the kitchen tile he’d been on for over a few hours. He felt a sudden thump on the bed, causing him to look to his left, where Daiki lay on the bed as well.

“Oi what the hell are you doing!?” Taiga exclaimed, using his hand to push Daiki off the bed. Daiki grumbled, rolling over so that he was on top of Taiga’s hand.

“I’m tired and I don’t want to sleep on the couch tonight, Kagami,” Daiki whined. “You’ve robbed me of my bed long enough just let me sleep here tonight — there’s enough room.” He refused to budge at all despite Taiga’s attempts to shove him off his arm.

“Fine, go ahead. It’s too late to deal with your drunkeness,” Taiga replied, removing his arm immediately when Daiki rolled off it. “Just stay on your side.” He huffed irritably when Daiki began to lightly snore, falling asleep almost immediately after. “You fool,” he muttered, lightly fluffing Daiki’s hair with the tips of his fingers. Catching himself he pulled back instantly, looking at his fingers. “ _What the hell am I doing_ ,” he thought, “ _I’m not even special to you, anyways_.” Laying down on his side, he could feel the lull of sleep envelope him in its comforting darkness before he could think anymore.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, thank you for reading and staying with me for this long! (10 chapters!!! I can't believe it's gone on this long!) I will continue doing my best!  
> I think (depending on how it goes) I'll take a long break after the next chapter/next next chapter just to do some prep for the second part of this fic! (Just a heads up)


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Haha wow earlier update this time! I was inspired to write so one week earlier than what my average has been lately.  
> Thanks again to my dear beta, Jiyoun!  
> This chapter's a lot longer than usual because I'm wrapping up the 'first part!'  
> I had a lot of fun writing this chapter, so I hope you guys all enjoy reading it!

Satsuki paused in her writing, looking out the window to watch the grass sway in the breeze. It was already the early afternoon and neither Taiga nor Daiki was up yet. Considering how she found them this morning when she got back, she wasn’t surprised.

She’d been worried to have returned and found Taiga’s crutches on the kitchen floor, rushing immediately to his room. Holding back a squeal of shock, she’d found the two of them sleeping soundly together in bed. Trying to contain her imagination, she crept back quietly to the kitchen, bringing the crutches into the room and then exiting as quietly as she came in.

Curiosity continued to burn inside her, creating a thirst that needed to be satisfied. She would’ve woken up Daiki to ask him about last night, but he was ridiculously loud whenever she tried to wake him up and she didn’t want Taiga to have to wake up. Though considering the time, they must’ve been up late, doing something. She smiled as she continued writing; she could wait patiently.

———————

Taiga hummed softly into the pillow, feeling content as the afternoon sun warmed his back. Blinking his eyes slowly to adjust to the rush of light, he heard a low groan next to him. He slowly pushed himself up onto his elbows to take a look and found a weight pressing gently on his mid back.  

Catching sight of Daiki’s face, everything in Taiga’s system suddenly awoke in surprise as he shoved him away with a shout. Memories of last night flooded back as he groaned in regret, flopping back down on the bed with a soft thump.

Daiki shouted as he fell on the floor, clumsily clutching at the sheets to try to stop his fall. His head sent strong shockwaves adding to the steady pulses of pain he’d been experiencing since he woke up. Sitting up, he saw the door crack slightly open.

“SATSUKI CLOSE THE DOOR NOW!” he roared, causing Taiga to look up in surprise and panic from him then to the door. The door closed, but not without the sound of giggling from the other end.

Daiki leaned his pounding head back on the nightstand, sighing before looking over at Taiga, who was watching him. Gathering up his strength, he grasped the side of his bed as he pushed himself onto his feet.

“I’m going to explain things to her, before she gets any funny ideas,” Daiki explained as he made his way to the door. His shirtless back exposed quite a few bruises here and there from being slammed into the kitchen drawers.

“Wait — !” Taiga started before the door closed. He sighed as he grabbed at the crutches nearby, realizing he’d have to go out and help Daiki explain. He paused realizing who’d probably left them there. Cursing to himself once, he grabbed at them and made his way out.

———————

Daiki found Satsuki sitting on the couch, drinking tea. She looked up when he stood next to her, glaring down at her as she tried to keep a straight face. He waited for her to say something, knowing better than to start the conversation.

“You must’ve been up late last night with Kagami, Daiki?” Satsuki asked, smiling at him innocently. “What were the both of you up doing?”

“Look Satsuki,” Daiki started, sighing as he sat down next to her, still feeling his hangover, “we didn’t do what you’re implying. I came back drunk and —“

“It seems you let Kagami take advantage of you,” Satsuki interrupted, looking at the bruises on his backside. “I didn’t know he could get that rough with that injury of his, but I guess men have their ways when they want something.”

“W-w-what!? No!” Daiki said after a moment of shock.”There’s no way I’d ever — never mind about that. What makes you think that we did that!? I was drunk and we argued and I knocked out on my own bed.”

“Nothing more?” she said as she tapped a finger along a bruise. “You’re also sporting one here, too.” Satsuki touched a sensitive spot along his jaw, causing him to wince in surprise.

“Sporting what?” Daiki said, rubbing the sore spot in annoyance as he glared at her.

“Bruises, along your back and one on your face. I don’t know what you and Kagami were up to, but next time he should be more mindful of you,” she said.

“Satsuki, those were from when Kagami slammed me into the kitchen drawers, and then — “ Daiki paused at the way Satsuki’s face lit up with a mix of shock and amusement. Realizing what he just said, he opened his mouth to say more.

“Idiot! You just made it worse!” Taiga jumped in first. He hopped, with the support of his crutches into the living room, taking a seat in one of the arm chairs.

“How else was I supposed to word it? I can’t just tell her that I fell on you,” Daiki snapped back. He didn’t notice Satsuki trying to hold back her giggles as he glared at Taiga.

“You just did,” Taiga sighed, before looking at Satsuki. “I swear we didn’t do any of that stuff, regardless of how Aomine has painted it. I was trying to get water last night and I fell and lay there for hours before Aomine helped me back to bed and stayed there.” He growled a bit at the end, glaring back at Daiki for creating the whole misunderstanding.

“And stayed for?” Satsuki teased, before losing control.

Daiki let out a huff of irritation, glaring at Satsuki as she started laughing. Taiga stared at her in dismay, bothered that she didn’t trust anything he or Daiki had been saying.

“Don’t worry about it, Kagami,” Daiki growled. “She’s just messing with us at this point.” He got up to get a drink of water to try to alleviate his hangover.

“I’m sorry, I couldn’t resist, Kagami,” Satuski apologized, wiping a tear from her eyes. “Both of you were making it seem like something else, even though I knew it was nothing from intuition.” She couldn’t hide her smile at Taiga’s embarrassment.

“Enough on that, Satsuki,” Daiki replied from the kitchen. “I could ask you the same question. What were you up to last night?” He ignored Taiga’s sudden quick burst of laughter before he contained it, probably at a memory from last night.

“I was at Father’s,” she replied calmly, taking another sip of tea. Daiki tsk’d in annoyance, closing his eyes as he thought of what to say.

“What!?” Taiga exclaimed, “But you said —”

“Daiki asked me what I did last night, not afternoon,” Satsuki replied, placing a finger to her lips. “Don’t worry, Kagami, everything has been resolved. You can go back, tonight actually, with Daiki’s help of course.”

“Wait, what?” Daiki said. “He’s going back to Seirin? And you did this behind my back?” He glowered at the both of them, before turning to Satsuki. “I thought we’d agreed to wait until --”

“You know that we’re not going to find any doctor willing to help him!” Satsuki cut him off, “I’ve already seen Tetsu anyways, so you can’t do anything. We’re meeting him tonight.”

“Well I’m not going to help you,” Daiki growled. “I can’t believe you just decided without consulting me at all!”

“Well,” Satsuki started, looking straight into his eyes, her eyebrows furrowed with challenge. “Tetsu said that if we’re not there by the time the moon’s at its peak, he will come here.”

Daiki opened his mouth, but closed it again in frustration.

“Fuck,” he cursed in a low voice. He turned his face slightly away, holding his jaw. He stood there for a moment before striding towards the door. “I’ll be back.

“Wait, what about?” Taiga started.

“He’ll go,” Satsuki replied quietly. “It just touched a sensitive spot of his.” She chuckled lightly, before adding, “Tetsu sure does know how to get his brother do what he wants.”

_ “Taiga!?” Tetsuya said slowly, shocked by what Satsuki just told him. He paused for a moment to collect his thoughts. “What do you mean? He — a few weeks ago . . .” He couldn't continue, gripping the desk as suppressed feelings rushed back. _

_ "He's alive, Tetsu," Satsuki gripped his upper arm, smiling weakly with emotion. "Daiki saved him and we've been taking care of him." _

_ "H-h-he's alive?" Tetsuya's voice shook with shock at the news. His widened blue eyes filled with tears before he closed them allowing the tears to spill down his cheeks. Falling to his knees his body shook as he said again, "He's alive!" Relief mingled with joy filled his voice as he looked up at Satsuki, smiling through the tears. _

_ Satsuki smiled back at him, squatting down to hold her brother as he cried onto her shoulder. She wrapped her arms tighter around him thinking of the guilt and sadness he'd probably been feeling up until now. They stayed that way for a while, before Tetsuya wiped his eyes, slightly embarrassed by the display of emotion. _

_ “Sorry,” he said quietly. “I’m calm now, you can continue.” _

_ “It’s fine,” she replied softly, placing a hand on his shoulder reassuringly. “I’m here because Kagami wants to return to Seirin, and we’re going to need a bit of your help.” Tetsuya blinked a few times, trying to figure out why. _

_ “Were his injuries serious?” he asked, frowning slightly in concern. _

_ “Well,” she replied, fidgeting slightly under Tetsuya’s questioning stare, “part of his left leg had to be amputated due to the seriousness of his injuries above his knee. Daiki and I were going to try and find a doctor there to fit him with a prosthetic leg, but I don’t think we will anytime soon. So I think it would be best if he returned.” She looked up to find her brother deep in thought. _

_ “You only?” Tetsuya said, “Is that also why you didn’t tell me the last time we met up?” _

_ “Daiki didn’t want you to know because nothing could be done then,” Satsuki said, looking at her hands. “And he probably didn’t want to run the risk of you or Kagami being caught, because it would mean death for either of you.” _

_ “I wouldn’t be so careless; he should know better,” Tetsuya replied, somewhat irritated. “But I understand his decision.” He smiled, though the slight glint in his eyes said otherwise. “We should make plans for Taiga to return tomorrow evening.” _

_ “So soon? But I need to convince Daiki,” Satsuki said, her eyes widening in surprise. _

_ “Just tell him that if Taiga’s not there by the time the moon is at its peak, since we’re doing this in the evening, I’ll come and get Taiga myself,” Tetsuya replied simply. _

_ “But you’ll be executed if anyone catches you!” Satsuki cut him off. _

_ “Which is why that should be enough to convince him,” he said. _

Tetsuya pulled out a dark traveling cloak, wrapping it around his body with a soft swoosh. As he pulled on a pair of gloves, he caught sight of a hat near the back of his closet. Reaching for it, he placed it over his distinctive light blue hair -- he couldn’t be sure about Daiki actually taking his bluff. There was too much at stake for Seirin right now to run the risk of him being caught on Touou territory.  

Walking out towards the stable, he basked in the soft warmth of the setting sun.  A few passing soldiers, hurrying to dinner, bowed slightly in acknowledgement before continuing on their way.

He paused as the reddening sunlight glinting off Taiga’s memorial caught his eye. Turning to look at it briefly, he smiled at the thought of its removal tomorrow before continuing onward to see his best friend again.

——————

Taiga looked out of the carriage as it bumped along the road, taking in the nighttime scenery of the Touou countryside. Sometimes he would catch sight of familiar places by the shape of key landmarks, where past battles had taken place. His heart tightened at the thought of never being able to enter battle again. Pushing open the small curtain behind him, he looked at Daiki’s back, thinking about him as well.

“What is it, Kagami?” Daiki said irritably, looking back at him. “We’re almost there, you don’t need to ask.” He turned his back on Taiga again, urging the horses faster, causing the carriage to jolt slightly at the increase in speed.

“Excited, Kagami?” Satsuki asked him, sitting across from him. “Tetsu’s excited to see you, too. He was so happy when he found out you were alive.”

“Yah,” he agreed quietly, looking back out the window, catching sight of a familiar view of the ocean, dabbled with streaks of moonlight, as they got closer to the border. He could see the peaks of some of the buildings of familiar towns and cities at a distance, beckoning to him to return.

“We’re here,” Daiki said into the carriage, as it stopped to a halt. He jumped off to tie the horses to one of the trees in the densely wooded area. He looked around the area first, listening carefully, before opening the door.

His eyes widened in surprise as Satsuki jumped out, landing into his arms. He growled as she patted his back, before slipping free from him and landing on her feet.

“Now go help Kagami,” she said, pushing Daiki towards the carriage, giggling slightly at what was to come next. She could hear Daiki sigh heavily.

Taiga was balanced on his leg, on the step of the carriage, holding onto the edges of the doorway, as he looked away from Daiki. Daiki bit his lip, trying to think of a better way than Satsuki had suggested earlier.

“Kagami,” Daiki said, to catch his attention. They both looked at each other for a moment, mentally bracing themselves for what was coming next. “Isn’t there a better way, Satsuki? Neither of us really wants to do this,” he suddenly said as he changed his mind, looking over at her.

“Nope, this is the best way,” she replied, coming from the back of the carriage holding Taiga’s crutches. “Oh good, I didn’t miss it.” She smiled as Daiki glared at her before looking back at Taiga.

“Get it over with,” Taiga urged, after they stared at each other for a minute or so. “Or are you too weak?” He personally had no wish to go through with this either, but the sooner he got off, the sooner he’d be able to go home.

“You wish,” Daiki replied, catching Taiga off guard as he grabbed his hips. He lifted the other man slightly off the step in order to lower him, causing Taiga to instinctively wrap his arms around his neck. Daiki nearly let go out of shock, but held on, finding himself looking into Taiga’s face. His cheeks immediately heated up, as he looked away towards Satsuki, who was gaping at the two of them.

“Hurry up and bring the crutches over,” Daiki called to her, keeping his voice level, ignoring the heat of embarrassment mingled with something else filling his body. “We don’t have all evening.”

Satsuki rushed over, bringing the crutches for Taiga. Daiki released his hold on Taiga’s hips as Taiga grabbed the crutches to balance himself on his leg with their support.

“Come on, we should get going,” Daiki said, a bit too curtly as he turned away and walked towards the meeting place.

“Daiki! Wait, we can’t walk that quickly!” Satsuki called out to him. He could hear her, but continued walking in order to cool down.

“It’s okay, Kagami,” Satsuki reassured, turning to Taiga. “I know where it is, so we can get there without Daiki.” She walked slowly alongside him, not rushing him and pointing out places where he could potentially tripped.

When they arrived, Daiki was doubled over in pain, wheezing while Tetsuya was standing in front of him, casting a shadow over him. Cold anger burned in his blue eyes momentarily before it was replaced with disappointment as he looked down at his brother before it faded.

“I know you had a reason for doing so, but you still shouldn’t have hidden that from me,” Tetsuya said. “Sorry that punch came a little harder than it should have, Daiki.” He reached a hand out to pull his brother to his feet.

“It’s fine,” Daiki replied, “I was expecting it from you anyways."

Tetsuya looked up to see Taiga and Satsuki; his eyes widening with joy at the sight of his best friend, alive and well. He stared for a moment before running over, hugging Taiga tightly.

"I’m so glad you’re alive, Taiga,” he mumbled, balling up his hands into fists. “I thought you were gone and . . . I’m so sorry that I couldn’t prevent it and we couldn’t find you afterwards."

“Hey, have a little more faith in me,” Taiga muttered, “I’m a lot more resilient than that.” He could feel the tension slowly leave Tetsuya’s body, making him feel guilty for disappearing from everyone’s radar for the last few weeks. “Don’t say it’s your fault. Midorima’s shots aren’t something you can prevent.”

Satsuki smiled at the sight of Taiga and Tetsuya’s reunion. After seeing how much Tetsuya had grieved over his best friend’s “death,” it warmed her heart to see the joy and relief in his face for a second time. She looked over at Daiki, who was also wearing a subtle smile at the reunion. After the two separated, she came over to give Taiga a hug as well.

“L-l-lady Moimoi!?” Taiga stuttered, shocked at her sudden display of affection.

“You can drop the Lady, Kagami,” Satsuki said, “I’m going to miss you after these last few weeks. I’m sorry we had to amputate your leg, but you can still do great things for Seirin.” She pulled away from him, and held his arm, looking up at him. “And thank you for teaching me a bit on cooking.”

“No, thank you — for everything you’ve done, both you and Aomine,” Taiga replied, looking from her to Daiki, then back to her. “For saving me and for putting up with me. I know I was difficult at times, and there was a lot of risk in keeping me there, but I will always be grateful to you two.” He looked down at the ground, smiling with immense gratitude.

“Then make it up to us by seeing me on the battlefield again,” Daiki said, causing Taiga to look up. “If it’s you, I’m sure you’ll be able to fight again.” Taiga’s eyes widened in shock before he added as he walked over, “Though you’ll still never reach my level of skill."

Taiga opened his mouth to reply, but nothing came out as Daiki suddenly gave him a hug as well.

“Keep your end of our promise,” he murmured into Taiga’s ear before pulling away. He placed a hand on Taiga’s shoulder, nodding once to him before turning to Satsuki. “Come on, let’s go. We shouldn’t idle here any longer.” He grabbed Satsuki’s arm and turned to go, hearing the slight shuffle of grass a moment later as Taiga and Tetsuya went on their way.

“Are you going to miss Kagami?” Satsuki asked teasingly, looking up at him as they walked.

“Tsk. I just hugged him because you two did, so I thought I should go along with it,” Daiki replied nonchalantly. He turned his head back briefly to watch the other two, his eyes meeting Taiga’s as the other looked back as well before quickly turning back to the dark wood.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, thank you for reading!  
>  ~~I'm sorry for this but I will take about a month to two month long break (it honestly depends on how long it takes for me to work out all the kinks in the political plot because that part is immensely complex and flexible and I keep adding/changing things) to figure out plot for the next half/two-thirds (from what it looks like) and also to not burn out from writing this and lose all motivation because I was starting to feel it after that last chapter.~~  
>  ~~Also I realized I actually need to cement things before I write more or it'll turn into a contradictory mess.~~  
>  ~~I will definitely finish though because I can't stand to leave this unfinished.~~  
>  ~~Ok sorry I'm blabbering too much!~~  
>  I LIED. THINGS WILL PROCEED AS NORMAL (refer to my tumblr for more explanation), but the gist is I have a deep need to write even though things will be inevitably unfinished with planning.  
> I'd also appreciate some feedback on how it's going, things you guys want to see (I'll try), have questions about, just so I can either answer (if it's unclear because I do realize there are things that I'm not clear on) or take into account when I'm planning. Only if you guys want to though, don't feel obligated!  
> Thank you so much for putting up with me for this long and feel free to hit me up on tumblr/twitter (@teeraxscribbles) if you want to talk to me more about the story or in general! That's also where I'll post status updates now and then I guess if anyone actually checks.  
> I will see you all hopefully, soon!


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello I am back and I lied about taking a giant break to plan (I tried planning and it didn't work out so well, resulting in giant question marks about the ending because I extended it oops). Things will update as usual I guess.  
> This chapter's a bit shorter than the last two and I'm not a huge fan of it, but transition chapter I guess?  
> As always thanks to my dear betas Jiyoun & Iris, and thank you for reading (and putting up with my fickle nonsense)  
> Also thanks to those who commented! ^^'

Daiki grunted as another rapid succession of knocks started up again. He rolled slowly onto his back, spread eagled across the bed with his eyes half open as sleep started to drift over him again.

“Daiki!” he heard Satsuki’s voice through the door. “Get up! Father wants you to join us for breakfast.”

“I’ll come down later,” he drawled loudly, still feeling tired from the night before. He closed his eyes again, ignoring the next set of knocks in the hopes she would give up.

“I’m going to come in if you don’t get up!” Satsuki shouted. “You haven’t seen Father in so long, you could at least eat breakfast with him!” She paused for a moment, and hearing nothing from the other end of the door, she opened it with a bang as it slammed against a wall.

The room flooded with white light as she threw open the curtains. Daiki groaned, pulling the sheets over his head. Satsuki stared at the lump of sheets for a moment, before grabbing the sheets and pulling them off abruptly to the floor.

Daiki put his head under the pillow in defiance, refusing to budge even when he heard Satsuki unlatching the windows. The cool breeze created goosebumps along his skin as he began to shiver in only a pair of pants.

His sister stared at him shivering pathetically for a moment before bending down to tickle his ribs. He jumped up at her sudden touch, pillow flying off as he tried to get away.

“S-Satsuki — no!” Daiki managed to spit out between chuckles that turned into guffaws as he reached for her hands as she fell on him. Instead, he reached for her waist before her shrieks joined his laughter. They struggled for a bit before Satsuki called truce, not being able to take his tickling anymore.

“If Tetsu were here, we would’ve won,” she wheezed, wiping a tear from her eye before getting off Daiki’s stomach to sit next to him.

“But that wouldn’t have been fair. Two on one — like you two would always do when we were kids,” he replied, laying on the bed and playing with a few strands of her hair.

_Daiki lay down on the floor, tired after practicing with a new, heavier sword that day. One of the maids gently suggested he go up to his room, but he ignored her, too tired to climb up a flight of stairs._

_He leaned his head back, looking at the world upside down and catching sight of his baby-faced little brother sitting at the base of the stairs watching him as their sister, sporting two small pink pigtails, whispered in his ear. He frowned slightly at the two of them, looking into Tetsuya’s calm eyes to tell him not to mess with him._

_He closed his eyes, feeling exhaustion beginning to lull him to sleep. Barely awake, he was vaguely aware of his siblings sitting next to him. He mumbled something, expecting them to cuddle with him for a nap when suddenly two sets of fingers dug into his stomach._

_He tried squirming away but he couldn’t, having been ambushed on both sides as he started laughing uncontrollably. His hands reached down to try to stop them, but he was no match as their giggles of delight joined his._

“I’m sure the commander has discussed it with you already?” Satsuki’s father said, adjusting some books on a nearby bookcase, his back facing Daiki. Daiki scowled.

“It was your idea, wasn’t it?” Daiki growled in response, folding his legs as he leaned back in the armchair. After breakfast (as he expected), he’d been summoned to the old man’s study for some kind of talk.  

“You don’t need to be so hostile, Daiki, and no it wasn’t. The commander discussed it with me, so he could offer you Tetsuya’s life for information on Seirin,” he replied. He turned around to face his adopted son, taking a seat in a chair nearby. “I think it’s a fine idea; you should go through with it.”

“Still treating us like your pawns?” Daiki snapped back. “When Tetsu left, you said he would be executed if he even stepped one foot back into Touou, even if he were to return. Now you’re willing to simply cast that aside just so you can make use of me.”

“He did betray this country,” the older man said calmly, not bothered at all by Daiki’s accusations. “And what I agreed to was that he wouldn’t be executed, but he’ll still be punished appropriately if that’s what you’re complaining about.”

“You!” Daiki started, clenching his fists, but couldn’t find anything to say.

“Resent me as you wish, but you were the one who chose to stay in the military even after finding out everything. Seirin will inevitably fall, but the commander just offered you a way to save your brother. You should be grateful for this opportunity,” he said sharply. Daiki gritted his teeth, angry at finding himself in a corner again.

“You know he’s important to me . . . that’s why you’re making me betray his trust,” Daiki replied through clenched teeth.

“No, the commander understood that and found a way to compromise. Don’t try twisting it. Anyway, enough of this arguing, are you going to take it?” he said, completely waving away Daiki’s anger.

“You don’t have to worry about it,” he started monotonously, after a long hesitation to collect his emotions. “I am. Not for you or anyone else in this country though.” He looked down at the floor before standing up.

———————

Taiga scrunched up his face as the licking on the side of his face continued. He tried turning away, but it resumed along his ear and part so his neck.

“Stop it Ao —,” he growled, raising a hand to push the offender away, stopping abruptly when his hand met thick fur, before it was quickly licked as well. As he turned to look, a loud bark confirmed his fears as he came face to face with a familiar dog.

“Nigou!” he shouted, scooting away as far as he could, hitting the wall with a thump. Nigou, unfazed by his reaction, thumped his small, front paws once before padding closer to him. Suddenly he turned and jumped off the bed, running to the door as Tetsuya entered the room.

“Sorry, Taiga,” he apologized, hiding a small smile at the sight of Taiga backed against the wall. “I didn’t want to disturb you because you seemed to be having a good dream, but Nigou slipped past me in his excitement.” He picked up Nigou and rubbed his head affectionately.

Taiga thought of his dream and his face reddened in a mixture of horror and embarrassment. Tetsuya cocked his head curiously as he fell over into the blankets, hiding his red face as the last few moments replayed in his head of Daiki licking him in the exact same places Nigou had just been.

“Is there something wrong?” Tetsuya asked.

“No,” Taiga replied instantly, his voice slightly muffled by the sheets. “I . . . I just wanted to try and muffle my growling stomach.” The other man stared at him, not convinced before deciding to let it go.

“Well there is breakfast in the dining hall right now,” he said, using one hand to move the crutches over to lean on the bed while holding Nigou with the other. “Everyone would be surprised to see you, or I could just leave you to your fantasies.” He added the last bit with a small smirk.

“I’m not fantasizing about anything!” Taiga looked up, though the remaining red along his cheeks said otherwise. “And wait you haven’t told anyone yet?”

“No, because I don’t think they’d let you sleep in that long if I did,” Tetsuya replied. “Anyways, we should get going if you want any breakfast — it’s going to be over soon.” He walked towards the door, stopping in the doorway to wait for his companion.

As Taiga swung his leg over the side of the bed, he took a good look at his room, a wide smile cracking his lips. The way the curtains flowed in the gentle breeze from the window, the sunlight casting a pale yellow light into the room, the broken closet, slightly ajar — all these familiar things he’d come to love. How he was glad to be home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! I'll continue doing my best!


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> eh he he he Sorry for the long hiatus!!! I just wasn't feeling up to writing right after the last one was posted because of stuff going on and then school kicked in and I just barely squeezed in this chapter. It also took a while because political mush (ugh) is hard to write. I hope you enjoy!  
> I also did some planning so I created a warning thing in general just fyi and will update tags. ([x](http://teerax-scribbles.tumblr.com/post/130383788657/warnings-chipped-blades))  
> And as always thanks to my darling betas Iris and Jiyoun (they really helped me to properly mesh this one out)

Taiga began shoveling food in his mouth as some soldiers from his unit gently punched his shoulder jokingly as they walked past by. He jerked his head upward in acknowledgement, his cheeks full of food as he chewed rapidly. The food he’d had over the last few weeks hadn’t been bad, but he definitely missed the meals he had in Seirin.

“You should slow down, Taiga,” Tetsuya said from his seat next to him. The others at their table looked on, impressed as always by how much Taiga could inhale in one sitting, no matter how many times they’ve eaten with their comrade.

“Let him enjoy himself, Tetsuya! We did hold him up for an hour in our mirth, and he’s been through a lot,” Teppei’s voice came from behind them. He slapped Taiga’s back heartily, causing him to choke. Everyone tried hard to contain their laughter as Tetsuya patted Taiga’s back gently, a hand covering his slight smile.

“Idiot! Are you trying to kill him for real!?” Junpei scolded Teppei. “Are you alright?” He said in a lower tone to the other man, whose coughing fit was beginning to slow down as he regained control.  Taiga slowly gave a thumb up as he began to take deep breaths, having taken care of the food.

“Oh, I need to talk to you after this,” Taiga said. “Commander,” he added after Junpei shot him a glare, mentally cursing himself for forgetting the formalities.

“I would like to talk to you as well. I’m glad you’re alive, but I’d like to hear about what happened to you during the time you disappeared over the past few weeks,” Junpei replied. “I’ll be in my office after you’ve finished eating.” He picked up his tray, getting ready to stand up before Teppei pulled him back, telling him to enjoy their company a little longer to Junpei’s chagrin.

“Taiga,” Tetsuya leaned in, whispering in Taiga’s ear, causing him to nearly jump. Seeing that he had the other man’s attention, Tetsuya continued, “When you speak with the commander, do not mention Daiki or Satsuki. Simply tell him you stayed with a couple of my friends.”

“Is there any —“ Taiga started to inquire, his mouth full of food after a curt nod, but Tetsuya stood up, having finished his meal. He bowed his head slightly to everyone else at the table, taking his tray to be cleaned. Taiga shrugged it off, instead turning back to his meal.

——————

“First things first, you’ll need to hand in a report tomorrow morning about what happened over the last few weeks that you were gone,” Junpei started once Taiga had settled down into his seat. Noticing Taiga’s slight grimace, he continued, “You will have plenty of time to work on it today once Tetsuya’s caught you up on military affairs. Now to move on to the next thing I would like to talk to you about, your role from here on out.”

Taiga’s face shot up at the last phrase, closing one hand into a fist as the fear that had been lingering in the back of his mind reared its head again. He tried his best to keep himself calm as he waited for the dismissal he knew was coming the moment he realized his leg was gone.

“I’m sure you know this, but in your condition there is no way you can participate in combat,” Junpei started gently, noticing the other’s slight discomfort.

“If you’re going to dismiss me, then please just tell me now instead of trying to comfort me beforehand,” Taiga interrupted quietly, looking at his lap. On another occasion, his commander would have reprimanded him for it, but he simply let it go.

“I didn’t say anything about dismissal; don’t put words into my mouth,” he replied as Taiga looked up. “Even if we dismissed you, you wouldn’t have anywhere to go and it’s not like you can go back to being a thief.” Junpei smiled slightly. “We’re not going to just let you go, Taiga. That would be cruel after your contributions. I’m just reassigning you to different tasks though it might be a challenge for you.”

“I’ll gladly accept it,” Taiga replied right away, quickly adding, “commander” for formality. The tension that had been building within dissipated in an instant, knowing that he wouldn’t be completely useless.

“Wait until I finish before you accept it,” his commander replied. “I was thinking with your experience, you would be able to provide Riko with some good input, so I am going to assign you to work with her.” He looked on in sympathy at the way Taiga’s face changed slightly before he simply nodded. “Well you’ll start after Tetsuya refer you to the readings you’ll need. And you said there was something you wanted to talk about?” He changed the subject, looking at Taiga curiously.

“Oh yeah,” Taiga said quickly, his eyes lighting up, “Touou and Shuutoku have a secret alliance and are planning a joint attack on Seirin, with a conquest in mind!" The commander’s eyes widened slightly in surprise.

"We had an inkling that they were scheming, but that goal . . . is impossible. Don't they remember the ‘balance of power'?" Junpei mused, more to himself than to Taiga.

"From what I heard," Taiga added, "they've found a loophole in the treaty."

"Loophole or not, it's not going to turn out the way they planned," Junpei said, raising an eyebrow at Taiga’s response, "It's good to know this is coming, but it's not like the other nations will sit quietly on the side."

"But —" Taiga started before Junpei shot a glare at him for talking back.

"Don't worry they won't have their way. You weren't here for all the wars and when the treaty was signed, but it’ll be fine," Junpei said, brushing off Taiga's concerns. “On that note, how did you find out about this? I know you were in Touou, but wouldn’t that be classified information?”

“Uh . . . “ Taiga said, trying to buy time as his brain stalled. “I happened to overhear!” He tried to look confident as Junpei looked at him skeptically.

“At the place you were staying at?” he inquired further.

“Yes, sometimes soldiers would walk past by and I heard them talking!” Taiga said, a little too quickly.  

"Hand in a report about everything else tomorrow and make sure you see Tetsuya. I need to discuss with the others about the information you’ve provided," Junpei changed the topic after a brief pause, beginning to make notes, signifying it was time for Taiga to go.

“I’ll be taking my leave now, commander,” Taiga said, using the crutches to help stand up from his chair. Junpei gave a quick sign of acknowledgement before he left the room, sighing with relief and hoping the commander bought his lie. Looking to his left as he turned a corner, he saw Tetsuya’s office was open.

“Tetsuya, can I come in?” he said, looking into the empty room. Frowning slightly, he prepared to maneuver himself in the reverse direction.

“It’s ‘may I,’ Taiga,” came a voice from behind him, causing Taiga to jump in surprise and nearly lose balance. Turning his head back, he glared at the offender, who simply stared at him blankly. “If you will excuse me, I need to enter my office, and yes you may come in. I already heard from the commander this morning when I handed in my own report on the matter.”

After the two of them settled into their seats, with Tetsuya behind his desk and Taiga across from him, the smaller man began to start writing a what looked to be a list. Taiga looked curiously at it, trying to read it upside down, but his grasp of the language wasn’t strong enough yet, seeing as he still struggled over words every now and then.

“What’s that?” Taiga asked, growing slightly more anxious as the list grew longer.

“A list of books for you to read to better help you when you start working with Lady Aida, before I forget,” Tetsuya replied, not looking up. “When I was teaching you two years ago, I gave you the bare minimum so that you would know as much as a foot soldier needed to know, but now you need a better understanding of things.”

“Ah . . .” Taiga replied, rather hesitantly as he realized just how much desk work his new duties required of him.

“If you have any trouble with the reading, you can always ask me, Kouki, or any of the others,” Tetsuya smiled in amusement at his friend’s expression as he handed him the list. “Now that that’s taken care of, I should catch you up on things that have happened during the time that you were gone, unless Satsuki or Daiki updated you?”

“Lady Momoi mentioned a peace treaty once to try and calm me down, but that’s it,” Taiga said, thinking hard. “Otherwise I haven’t heard anything about what’s going on outside.”

“That’s the only major event that’s happened since your accident, the border scuffles ending,” Tetsuya said. “The higher ups think that Touou and Shuutoku are scheming something so we’re actually meeting with our ally, Kaijou in a couple of days to discuss our strategy if they make a move.”

“I already told the commander this already, but they’re planning a joint conquest on Seirin,” Taiga said, causing Tetsuya’s eyes to widen slightly in surprise. “I happened to overhear the two of them talking about it one night when they thought I was asleep.”

“But that would only serve to start an all out war that no one’s prepared for, don’t they realize that the ‘balance of power’ is still in place?,” Tetsuya asked rhetorically and echoing the commander’s thoughts to Taiga’s chagrin. He couldn’t understand why everyone was taking it so calmly.

“Aomine said their commander found a loophole in the treaty,” Taiga rebutted.

“Really,” Tetsuya muttered, his eyes narrowing slightly as he sat deep in thought. “Even if, the other nations wouldn’t stand for it, unless an all out war is what they’re looking to start.” Looking up as if he suddenly remembered Taiga was there, he added, “You’ll understand once you read the books about the history. I didn’t bother teaching you it before because I never thought the things of the past would come into play now.”    

“What exactly is the ‘balance of power’ about?” Taiga asked.

“You wouldn’t know about it because you first joined during the long peacetime that’s lasted even til now,” Tetsuya said quietly, his eyes reliving a memory as he took a sip of his drink. “It ended years of fighting amongst the nations as each one struggled to take over after the Teikou Empire collapsed. Under it all the nations that you see now agreed to maintain the status quo of power in terms of territory and such in order to end the long struggle for dominance. Though we all know it’s only to buy time so everyone could build their strength before the next big conflict.” He sighed, the last sentence being nearly a mumble.

“Teikou Empire?” Taiga asked, interrupting Tetsuya’s thoughts.

“Didn’t I tell you about it two years ago? Though knowing you, you probably forgot it,” Tetsuya sighed, ignoring Taiga’s offended yelp. “Before, this continent was under the rule of one empire, Teikou Empire. A steady decline and internal turmoil tore it apart and several smaller nations arose to try and take its place leading to nearly two decades of fighting. You can find more about it in some of the books I recommended you, which you should read while I’m gone.”

“Wait, you’ll be gone? Where will you be going?” Taiga asked, concern lacing his voice.

“It’ll only be for a few days, for the meeting I mentioned earlier with our allies in Kaijou,” Tetsuya replied, smiling slightly at Taiga’s disgusted face at some memory. “Remember Kise? I’ll be sure to tell him hello for you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And soooo school is eating away at my existence but I will try to update at least once a month T^T I'm sorry if I can't do that, but I hope you enjoyed!  
> As always thanks for reading and I will continue to do my best with the story!


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the longer time it takes to update - it's just school and me mulling over plot (a lot because I'm having trouble with what's to come after this so I'm trying to stall having to write it ^^;) Hope you enjoy!  
> Thanks to Iris for beta'ing!

Daiki leaned back in his chair, stretching his long legs and placing his boots on the desk. Bits of dirt fell on the desk, but he paid little regard, thinking back to the previous day’s conversation.

_“Come in,” Shouichi said, at the slight knock. He looked up and smiled wryly at the sight of one of his generals, bringing his fingers together as he propped his elbows on the table. Daiki glared irritably as he caught sight of his commander’s expression, to Shouichi’s amusement._

_“I heard from your father you’re willing to accept my deal that in exchange for pivotal information on Seirin, I give you your brother’s life when we take over. Because as we both know, even I wouldn’t be able to break his will completely meaning — “ He paused slightly before he continued, “I don’t need the information by a set time, but if you delay too long my other sources might find something first for us to provoke Seirin into attacking, I can’t guarantee Tetsuya’s life then.” Daiki’s jaw stiffened momentarily._

_“I’ll allow you to go to and from Seirin freely, though if you do betray Touou, you will be punished,” Shouichi added. “I already gave the orders out to the guards along the border that you’re doing something there.”_

_“Why are we doing this?” Daiki asked, his voice low and tinged slightly with anger. Seeing the commander raise an eyebrow, he clarified, “Why do we even need to take part of Seirin’s land with the risk of an all out war? We’re doing well enough economically to not need Seirin’s ports, and they don’t have any resource a large nation like ours doesn’t have. I understand why Shuutoku desires their land, but not us.”_

_“What do you think about war, Daiki?” Shouichi countered._

_“What?” the other replied, puzzled by his commander’s response._

_“After growing up during a time of constant war, what do you think of it?” he repeated himself, this time a lot less abruptly._

_“It’s bad,” Daiki replied gruffly, irritated with such an obvious question._

_“It’s inevitable,” Shouichi corrected, ignoring Daiki’s response. “Even if we signed a treaty to maintain a balance of power and abstain from declaring anything more than minor scuffles, war will take this continent again. We and Rakuzan only agreed to it because all the remaining nations were unified in pushing for it.”_

_“I still don’t see how taking over Seirin relates to that,” Daiki replied, his eyebrows furrowing._

_“We need to prepare for what is to come. Although we have very little use for Seirin’s land, eliminating it would result in fewer potential allies for Rakuzan and it would serve as a powerful bargaining tool. I already secured an agreement with Shuutoku that they would give us part of their mines in exchange for our half of Seirin,” the commander explained, pointing to the appropriate locations on the map that lay on his desk. “We would then secure a valuable raw resource. I know we may have free trade with Shuutoku for now, but they might not be our allies in the future.”_

_“We’re just preparing for ‘what ifs’,” Daiki argued immediately._

_“You should know better than anyone that preparation is important. Your father’s attitude cost him his life, don’t adopt it by believing in the good of others,” Shouichi said, “There will be a war, but for a chance of victory, it’s about preparation and who makes the first move.”_

He sighed loudly as other memories came up as a feeling of dread rose up in his chest of what was to come. Although he was normally indifferent to military affairs nowadays, the thought of an all out war like the ones in the past was something even he couldn’t ignore especially not with the commander poking at old scars. He closed his eyes for a moment, before the sound of the door opening caused him to jump in surprise. Falling to the floor with a crash, he made out a taller figure from the corner of his eye, cursing his bad luck at being discovered already.

“Aomine?!” a familiar voice called his name out in a near whisper, followed by the click of the door closing as Daiki turned his head over to see Taiga staring at him. He looked over indifferently at the red haired man in an attempt to hide his embarrassment and make it seem as if it was natural for him to be there.

“What are you doing here?!” he asked with a puzzled expression on his face. His expression changed to irritation as Daiki started laughing at how confused he’d looked at seeing him, relieved that Taiga wasn’t going to report him to his comrades.

“I’m just here to visit Tetsu,” he replied casually, sitting up on the floor. Seeing the way Taiga’s face quickly changed to disappointment, he scolded himself for interpreting it that way, missing Taiga’s response. “What?”

“He’s not here right now,” Taiga repeated himself, staring at him with annoyance. “He’s out —“ stopping himself immediately when he was unable to think of some other excuse for Tetsuya’s absence.

“Doing what?” Daiki pried.

“None of your business,” he replied, shooting him a slight glare.

“I’m Tetsu’s brother, you can tell me,” he said casually.

“It’s military business, so I can’t tell you no matter what,” Taiga rejected him.

“Oh, so you can’t tell me anything because I’m from Touou?” he teased, making a mental note in his mind to find more information later.

“Of course, you idiot! So you should go, now that you know Tetsuya isn’t here,” he huffed irritably as he hobbled slowly over to the bookshelves, referring to a list in one of his hands. He stared hard at all the books on the shelves, looking back at his list occasionally to cross check as he tried to find the right books.

“Can you even read that?” Daiki asked him, surprising Taiga who hadn’t noticed him walk over in his intense focus. He’d been watching the other man for a bit, seeing him skip over other books on the list to try and find a certain book.

“Of course I can. I thought you were going to go,” Taiga snapped at him, as he finally spotted the book and pulled it out slightly from the shelf to mark it for later.

“Are you sure you aren’t just matching the letters?” Daiki scoffed as he leaned in to look at the list of books. “Why are you reading a bunch of history books?”

“It’s none of your business,” Taiga replied gruffly. He kept looking slowly and painstakingly for the next book on the list amongst Tetsuya’s enormous library, trying his best not to be distracted by Daiki’s closeness. He paused in surprise as a tan hand picked out several of them in one go. Turning to growl at the other man, he found his face uncomfortably close to that of the other.

Daiki’s eyes widened slightly in surprise as Taiga turned back suddenly, feeling his cheeks burning slightly as he suddenly remembered a dream. He hastily tried to grab at the shelves as he fell over from the sudden movement, falling onto Daiki and pushing both of them to the floor with a crash.

“Are you alright, Taiga?” a voice came through the door. “Do you need any help?”

“I’m fine, Kouki! I just dropped a book,” Taiga shouted back immediately, sitting up slowly as Daiki groaned underneath him in pain. Turning back, he shoved his hands over Daiki’s mouth before adding, “Don’t worry about me, I can handle this on my own.”

“Are you sure?” Kouki asked.

“Yes!” Taiga shouted. Hearing nothing else as Kouki walked away slowly saying things Taiga couldn’t make out to his friends, he sighed, pulling his hands off Daiki’s mouth. He yelped as Daiki suddenly shoved him off with some desperation. Looking up from where he lay on the floor, he saw him sitting up, adjusting his pants and looking in the opposite direction.

“Oi! What was that for?” Taiga demanded.

“For covering my mouth and you’re pretty heavy, you know, especially with how much you eat,” he replied, not meeting Taiga’s eyes. He bent down, holding a hand out to Taiga and the crutches in the other. “I should get going — I’ve already pulled out all the books you needed.”

Taiga hesitated for a moment before grasping his hand. He couldn’t help but feel a slight disappointment at the news of Daiki’s departure. Grasping the crutches to steady himself, he looked up to see Daiki walking briskly towards the window before he slipped out. Sighing he looked at the books before him, realizing he had no way of carrying all of them back to his room. As he reached for one that Daiki had pulled out, he sighed looking at the hand that a few weeks ago wouldn’t have touched his rival’s hand.

Looking back at the window, he cursed himself for not watching himself better and feeling disappointed over someone who didn’t care for him.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading and putting up with my slow updates! I'll continue to do my best ^^; I'd hoped to have them 'hook up' by the end of the year but I'm so sluggish hopefully before this fic is a year old haha


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah ha! Xmas update! (I swear it wasn't intentional but I had to sit on this chapter for a while as finals, etc kicked in after I wrote it)   
> As always I hope you enjoy! And thanks to my beta, Iris for her help!

Daiki cursed his body for betraying him as he looked quickly around the area. The only sound that he could hear were the birds twittering happily amongst themselves in the forest. He quickly undid his pants, freeing his erect member. 

Grasping his dick between his calloused fingers, he began to pump slowly, trying to think of one of the girls he’d spent time with at his favorite brothel. Instead what came to mind was the warmth of Taiga’s ass against his crotch from earlier and the slight blush he’d had on his face when they made eye contact. He put his free hand against the tree in front of him as he paused his other hand to stroke the ridge of his cock. 

His body shuddered in pleasure at the sensation, but a tingling guilt surfaced in his mind as he continued to pump his cock with more intensity, placing more pressure on it as he slid his hand faster. Thinking of Taiga’s flustered, panting face after several of their fights in the past, he couldn’t help himself as he thought of the sight of that off the battlefield. Feeling the deep need building in his lower regions, he stroked with increased intensity, bending down slightly and panting hard before his body suddenly shuddered with release. 

Shaking off his fingers and wiping them in the bushes nearby, he checked his pants before pulling them back up. Sighing he made his way back to the border, deciding against scoping around for the rest of the day. He’d rather be away from Seirin and alone with his thoughts for a while. He knew he’d had feelings for Taiga when he couldn’t leave the idiot to die by the river, but he thought he had a much better handle on them than that. 

He bent his head down as he passed some soldiers from Seirin, chattering loudly enough for him to catch the words “Kaijou” and “meeting.” Looking back at them quickly as they passed him before looking down again, he made note, connecting Tetsuya’s absence with what he’d heard. It wasn’t anything worth mentioning to the commander for now, but maybe with a bit more information, he could use that.

————————

Tetsuya walked along the ports, looking out at the sea and the comforting shore of Seirin in the distance. Familiar sailors called out to him in greeting as they went about their daily tasks, preparing their ship’s goods. He’d smile slightly in response, raising a hand in acknowledgement. The wind ruffled his hair, bringing the familiar salty air in and causing the sails to whip with the disturbance. 

_ “We’ll uphold our end of the alliance if it gets to that point,” Yukio said, looking at Junpei, who was sitting across him from the desk. “It doesn’t surprise me that Touou and Shuutoku are plotting something together seeing as the two of them have been starting small scuffles with Seirin for the last couple of years. Though for the two of them to try to conquer Seirin, wouldn’t it backfire? The other nations are bound to get involved.”  _

_ “According to one of our sources, they believe they have found a way to keep the others from getting involved, which is why we are here — in order to seek assurance of backup if such a situation were to occur,” Junpei replied, referencing his notes quickly before continuing. “We will be cautious on our end so, it’ll be unlikely a war would start.”  _

_ “Well, you will have our support,” the other commander reassured them. “If there aren’t any other matters, I think we can close this meeting. We’ll have our sources look into the situation as well, but for now, we’ve prepared rooms for your party for the evening.” _

_ “We are grateful for the hospitality,” Junpei said, standing up with the others in the room and bowing his head slightly.  _

He sat down on the edge of one of the many docks, swinging his legs slightly above the tranquil ocean below him. Taking a drink of water from his flask, he basked in the sun trying to enjoy the calm before the storm that would come. Despite everything they were saying if Touou was itching for a confrontation, it was bound to move Rakuzan to take action as well. Looking back on his days in Touou, the two nations had always been grappling for dominance of the continent, with Rakuzan being a vestige of the Teikou Empire and Touou being a rapidly growing new power that arose from the decay of Teikou. In the recent years with alliances being made and sides being drawn, it was only a matter of time before the fuse of the bomb of war would be lit, probably by Touou from the way it looked. 

Sighing, he thought about Daiki. It hadn’t been a problem being on the opposite side of his brother during the small scuffles over the years because he didn’t have to worry too much about a direct confrontation or his brother dying. Daiki’s personality had also darkened over the years once they both joined the military as teenagers, and Tetsuya feared that it would worsen again with the pressures of a large scale war, especially without him there to watch him. When they’d finally met again a few years after he left, it’d been like talking to a different person. 

Though his brother had begun to change when Taiga joined the military — their rivalry seemed to spark something in his brother’s heart. He didn’t know exactly what happened to Daiki during the years after he’d argued with him and abandoned him in Touou, but Taiga’s presence had helped to soften his brother. But he feared that would be undone in the event of a war. It was times like these when he felt a twinge of regret in abandoning his family. 

“Kurokocchi!” a voice disturbed his thoughts. Looking up he saw Ryouta standing nearby, waving him over. “Your commander is gathering everyone to leave, so I volunteered to fetch you!” He flashed Tetsuya a cheerful smile as he walked over to meet him. 

“Thank you, Kise. I’d lost track of the time,” he said once they’d started walking together. He looked up at his childhood playmate, finding comfort in the fact that Ryouta had still maintained his outwardly cheerful demeanor over the years. 

“It’s a pity about Kagamicchi though,” he changed the topic, taking advantage of it being just the two of them. “I would’ve liked to see him. Is he going to be dismissed?”

“Our commander has assigned him to desk work,” Tetsuya replied, smiling slightly at the thought of Taiga trying to read all those difficult books at home. “His experience would prove useful, especially when we need all the help we can get when war breaks out.”

“It’s going to happen, isn’t it?” Ryouta sighed. “I’m glad that Kaijou is a little more remote so we won’t receive as much damage, but — “ He stopped, turning at the sound of his name being called. “Himuro!” 

Tetsuya looked behind him to catch sight of the taller man nearby, who had called out Ryouta’s name just now. From his clothes, he was from a country on one of the other continents, though he couldn’t place which one. Half of his face was hidden by a long set of black bangs.

“Kise! How are you?” Tatsuya inquired as he came closer. He looked quickly at Tetsuya curiously before turning back to Ryouta. 

“I’m doing well. It’s been awhile since you were last in the area, hasn’t it?” Ryouta replied, before his eyes lit up. “I should introduce you to my friend, Kuroko; he’s a general for Seirin, the nation across the bay from us. Kurokocchi, this is Himuro. He could definitely help you with Kagamicchi! He’s worked on prosthetics for some of our soldiers before. Some of the soldiers he’s made prosthetics for are still active in the military, so there’s still hope for him,” he vouched. “You know his bangs? Those are —“

“I’d prefer if you didn’t say that out loud, Kise,” Tatsuya placed a hand over Ryouta’s mouth. “It’s a fake eye that my father made when I was young,” he added in a quieter voice. “I can show you later as evidence of the work that I might be able to do for your comrade.”

“I think I can trust Kise’s judgement on this,” Tetsuya replied. “Though I would have to talk to my commander first before the military can hire you, since it would require us to take you into our headquarters and that’s not something we’d easily allow. For all we know, you could be a spy sent by one of our enemies.” 

“I see. What was the name of your comrade?” Tatsuya asked, before adding, “Just curious, since I know Kise has a habit of nicknaming.” 

“Kagami Taiga,” he replied, seeing no loss in revealing Taiga’s name to what might be a spy from one of their enemies. He looked in surprise at the way Tatsuya’s face changed, his cool smile changing at once to one mingled with emotion.

“I can’t believe it’s actually him,” he said more to himself than to the other two before letting out a soft chuckle. “”We all thought the fool died three years ago, but all this time he’s been a soldier in Seirin’s military. Ah, he should’ve just come home instead of getting injured like that.” 

Tetsuya and Ryouta stared at him in surprise, momentarily dumbfounded.

“How do you know Taiga?” Tetsuya finally asked, suddenly remembering that Taiga was a foreigner. 

“He was like a little brother to me when we were growing up. I thought I overheard his name when you two were talking so I wanted to find out more, not expecting it to be him, but to my surprise, he’s alive,” Tatsuya replied. “I’d gladly provide my services for free for the chance to see him again.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! I'm actually really excited that I've introduced Himuro ^^ hopefully it'll motivate me to write more since things will get a little more interesting. I'll continue doing my best and thank you for your patience with me.


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